Belying Pakistan's expectations that it will apply 'pressure' on India over Jammu and Kashmir, Russia on Thursday not only came out in full support of the steps taken by New Delhi to combat international terrorism in the state, but also asked Islamabad to stop cross-border infiltration of terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure.
"The Russian Federation supported the steps taken by India in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in combating international terrorism," said a joint statement issued at the conclusion of Prime Minster Atal Bihari Vajpayee's three-day visit to Moscow, during which he held extensive talks with President Vladimir Putin on the situation in South Asia, threat posed by terrorism to both countries and on a wide range of other issues.
Also see: Complete coverage of prime minister's three-nation tour
Remarks attributed to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf after his recent talks with Putin had generated speculation in Pakistan that the Russian leader would pressure Vajpayee to resume dialogue with Islamabad.
Indian sources maintained that there was nothing in the Russian position as enunciated during the summit talks that could cause concern to New Delhi.
The 11-page joint statement, issued as Vajpayee emplaned for an overnight visit to the strategic Central Asian Republic of Tajikistan, leaves no doubt about the stand of Russia, which joined India in demanding that Islamabad implement its assurances to prevent cross-border terrorism.
Appreciating Vajpayee's peace initiative and the accompanying measures for people-to-people contacts announced by India, Russia hoped that Pakistan would come out with a positive response to these initiatives, the statement said.
Complete coverage of Indo-Pak peace initiatives
India, in turn, reiterated its support to the measures taken by Russia in Chechnya for the protection of Russia's territorial integrity and constitutional order, the statement said.
A significant portion of the statement dealt with the situation in South Asia and Central Asia, Al Qaeda and Taliban.
The joint statement followed Wednesday's joint declaration by the two leaders aimed at dealing with global challenges and threats to world security and stability.
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