June 3, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 2, 1424

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KARACHI, June 2: President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s recent visit to Russia, the first by any Pakistani leader in 33 years, was part of an effort to blunt the effect of Moscow’s ties with New Delhi while President Vladimir Putin’s response to this Islamabad initiative was aimed at influencing developments in the region, says the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

In the latest issue of its journal South Asia Monitor, the institute says that although expansion of economic relations was the stated goal in Gen Musharraf’s February meeting with Mr Putin, terrorism and Central Asia were clearly the guiding force in their ties. Pakistan saw the war on terror and its own changed policy in Afghanistan as an opportunity to take a positive turn in ties with Russia, which despite the post-Soviet turmoil remains an important player in world politics.

Gen Musharraf’s public acknowledgement of Moscow’s concern that Chechen fighters had been allied with the Taliban in Afghanistan, and his reassurance that they would not find sanctuary in Pakistan, must have pleased his host, according to the South Asia Monitor.

Though Gen Musharraf’s meetings in Moscow opened up a long-dormant dialogue, they did not result in any major change in Russia’s policy either towards India-Pakistan relations or towards Islamic extremism.

The journal says although the United States has become the most influential external power in South Asia, Russia remains a very important friend for India, and China for Pakistan.

Moscow and Beijing, for their part, probably see South Asia as a region where their own global roles can blossom, placing some limits on how freely Washington can extend its influence as the world’s sole superpower.