The Hindu : International / India & World : India, Russia to discuss terrorism

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 07, 2004

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International - India & World

India, Russia to discuss terrorism

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, APRIL 6 . The security situation in Afghanistan and Central Asia will be high on the agenda of the high-level India-Russia consultations on terrorism in Delhi this week.

This issue "gains special importance in the light of the recent terrorist attacks in Uzbekistan," said Mr. Anatoly Safonov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia.

At least 22 persons were killed and dozens wounded in a series of bomb attacks in Uzbekistan last week. The Uzbek authorities blamed the attacks on radical Islamists linked to the Al-Qaeda.

Mr. Safonov will arrive in Delhi on Wednesday at the head of an inter-agency Russian delegation for an annual session of the `India-Russia Working Group for Countering International Terrorism.' Apart from Central Asia and Afghanistan the group will also discuss South Asia, Iraq and West Asia.

Mr. Safonov described the resumed political dialogue and other links between India and Pakistan, as well as the recent SAARC summit, as "very significant positive shifts" that pave the way to reducing the terrorist threat in the region.

"It is important to use this unique opportunity to resolve the problems between India and Pakistan," Mr. Safonov told The Hindu before leaving Moscow for Delhi. India had the political will necessary to achieve full normalisation, and Pakistan had also taken "some important steps" along this road as reflected by reports on declining infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir.

"At the same time we believe that Pakistan must continue to take further measures to stop infiltration of terrorists across the LoC and eliminate the entire terrorist infrastructure on the territory under its control," said the Russian Minister, who, in February, was in Islamabad for a meeting of the Russia-Pakistan working group on terrorism.

Mr. Safonov arrives in Delhi less than a week after attending a Russia-United States working group meet in Washington on new threats and challenges as the co-chairman of a sub-group on weapons of mass destruction. Russia was "actively discussing" possible multilateral action to combat terrorism with India, China and the United States.

"This problem is taken up at annual trilateral meetings of the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York," he said, adding that the three nations were now discussing possibilities for interaction at other international fora.

Mr. Safonov voiced concern over the terrorist threat that still emanates from Afghanistan despite the U.S.-led anti-terror campaign.

The Russian Minister called for tackling the problem of drug production in Afghanistan as a key to solving its other problems.

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