ISLAMABAD, Jan 2: Russia is actively supporting the peace initiatives between India and Pakistan at all levels, said the Russian ambassador to Pakistan, Edward Shevchenko, here on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference, the ambassador said everything that touched upon the relations of Pakistan and India was of great significance to all the world powers.

The ambassador said Russia had traditionally good relations with India but during the past few months, ties with Pakistan improved drastically. He said Russian and Pakistani leaders were meeting quite often now and discuss all international issues and improvement of ties between the two countries.

Important decisions for bilateral cooperation in the fields of metallurgy, energy, space and telecommunication and culture were now in the implementation stages, he said.

The ambassador hoped that after the visit of President Musharraf to Russia, bilateral trade would increase between the two countries. He said the ministries of industries of the two countries were cooperating in automobile sector.

In reply to a question, Ambassador Shevchenko said the world was multi-polar and Russia as a member of UN Security Council and G-8 countries had an important role to play in bringing an improvement in world affairs.

He said the European Union was another power centre, which was strong enough and equal enough to the US. In this part of the world, he said, China, Indonesia and India were significant.

Appreciating the anti-terrorism policies of Gen Musharraf, the Russian ambassador said, his country was facing the evil which had to be fought with an iron will.

In reply to another question if Islam had replaced communism as a new threat for the US, the Russian ambassador said terrorism and extremism had nothing to do with any ideology.

Emphasizing increased cultural cooperation between the two countries, the ambassador said the famous Russian theatre would be performing in Pakistan.Moreover, he said Pakistani invitation had been extended for visit of Pakistani artists to Russia.