January 22, 2002	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 7, 1422

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MOSCOW, Jan 21: Pakistan on Monday asked Russia to intercede with its ally India over the Kashmir dispute in a personal message to Russian leader Vladimir Putin delivered by a special envoy.

Former deputy foreign minister Najamuddin Sheikh and senior politician Asfandyar Wali handed the request from Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

“The state of tension in South Asia should be a matter of concern not only to India and Pakistan but to countries in the region, particularly to an important country in the region like Russia,” Sheikh told a press conference.

“And therefore there should be efforts not only by India and Pakistan but by the countries of the region to seek a reduction of the tension and the resumption of the dialogue between India and Pakistan,” he added.

Moscow, by far the largest arms supplier to New Delhi and a key Indian ally since the Cold War, “has relations with India which stretch over many years,” the Pakistani envoy pointed out.

The Russian foreign ministry said that in his talks with the Pakistani emissaries, Ivanov welcomed the measures to curb Islamic extremism but told them that Moscow expects more of the same.—AFP