January 11, 2002	Friday	Shawwal 26, 1422

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MOSCOW, Jan 10: British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called jointly on Pakistan to crack down on extremist groups, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

In a telephone call initiated by Blair, the two leaders underlined “the vital importance of putting a stop to all terrorist activities from Pakistani soil in order to re-establish dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad”, RIA-Novosti quoted Kremlin spokesman Alexei Gromov as saying.

Putin also congratulated Blair on the results of his recent six-day mission to South Asia, which saw the British prime minister attempting to calm tensions between Pakistan and India as well as stop over in Afghanistan to promise international support for reconstruction efforts.

The Russian president described the peace mission as “extremely timely and a significant contribution to joint action in the frame of the international anti-terrorist coalition”, Gromov said.—AFP