NEW DELHI, June 16: Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov held talks here on Monday on issues ranging from Iraq to recent peace moves between South Asian nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, officials said.
Ivanov, who held a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart Yashwant Sinha, urged Pakistan to “seize” Indian premier Atal Behari Vajpayee’s recent offer of peace talks.
“Russia welcomes India’s decision to restore diplomatic ties with Pakistan. It speaks volumes for India’s desire for peace...Russia supports these efforts and wants Pakistan to seize the opportunity for peace talks,” he said.
Russia, he added, would continue to urge Islamabad to put an end to what he claimed the flow of Islamic militants from Pakistan-administered Kashmir into the Indian zone of the disputed state.
“Russia welcomes the efforts to cut and neutralise the activities of terrorist organisations which are active in the territory of Pakistan,” said Ivanov.
“Our support for India’s fight against terrorism is well known. We know the Pakistanis have taken measures but like our Indian friends say we need to see more action on the ground rather than statements,” he added.
India accuses Pakistan of fuelling a 14-year-old insurgency in occupied Kashmir.
Mr Sinha told the press conference that during Ivanov’s visit they had set up a joint working group on fighting terrorism.
“It will give a legal framework to our efforts to fight terrorism. We agreed that Pakistan should take all steps to cease crossborder terrorism,” said Mr Sinha.
Mr Ivanov said his breakfast meeting with India’s defence minister George Fernandes had focused on the situation in Iraq.
“Special attention was paid to Iraq and the Middle East peace process,” said Ivanov.
“We agreed that real security in Iraq would follow the establishment of an interim government and allowing the United Nations to play a greater role.”
A defence official had earlier said Mr Ivanov had expressed concern about the ramifications of India sending soldiers to keep the peace in Iraq outside of the United Nations umbrella.
“It is the sovereign right of any country to decide whether to send troops to Iraq but I can say quite categorically that Russia is not planning to send any soldiers there.”
Coincidentally, a Pentagon team was in New Delhi Monday trying to allay the Indian government’s misgivings on the prickly subject.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko had earlier said that Russia and India “advocated the construction of a multipolar democratic world and the formation of a new international security system with the United Nations in the central role.”
However, in the absence of a UN umbrella India is likely to keep its traditional Cold War ally happy by pressing for the creation of a peacekeeping force under international control — such as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
Russia is hoping to sell the 44,500-ton aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov to the Indian navy as part of a package under which Moscow will also lease Turpov-22M3 long-range strategic bombers and Akula class nuclear-powered submarines to New Delhi.
More than 70 per cent of the Indian army, air force and navy equipment is of Russian origin.
Mr Ivanov was due to meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President A.P.J Abdul Kalam later Monday.
Bilateral trade between the two countries has fallen drastically to around 1.4 billion dollars from more than four billion dollars before the break-up of the Soviet Union.—AFP
