NEW DELHI, Dec 1: Russian President Vladimir Putin, due to visit New Delhi on a state visit this week, has lauded recent efforts by India and Pakistan to reduce the tension on their borders but he also said that Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal could fall into wrong hands.

In an interview at the Kremlin with The Hindu newspaper and Star News channel, Putin welcomed the decision by India and Pakistan to pull back their troops from the international border and described it as a “movement absolutely in the right direction”.

He said: “I think that relaxation of tension in such an explosive and dangerous region is an act that deserves respect and we will try to support any steps taken by either country towards that objective”.

However, Putin expressed his reservations about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arms and was quoted as using unusually strong words to describe his worry.

Putin said his concerns persist despite assurances from President Pervez Musharraf that his nuclear arsenal was secure.

“One such concern that we have are the weapons of mass destruction in Pakistan. We have to have a clear picture of where those weapons are, in what status, what condition they are and what will happen with them in the future,” Putin said.

While the Russian President could not confirm western reports that Islamabad was supplying nuclear know-how to North Korea in exchange for missile technology, he said that the biggest fear was of Pakistani weapons of mass destruction falling into the wrong hands.

“What we are concerned about is the fact that weapons of mass destruction could fall into the hands of bandits and terrorists,” he said.

Putin will begin summit talks with India on Dec 4. But even before he arrives, Moscow is likely to bring up the topic of terrorist camps in Pakistan at the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on combating terrorism on Monday.

“But, to be frank, our concerns, our anxiety still persists. Our position is such that we believe that practical action should be taken to prevent the dissemination of WMD,” he said.

In the interview ahead of his visit Putin said: “What we are worried about is not only the fact that WMD could fall into the hands of bandits and terrorists (this is exactly how I would like to call these persons rather than just militants).”

“Not only that is dangerous, but we also have concerns they (terrorists) could obtain information concerning production techniques of even simple means that could be equal to WMD in their destructive potential,” he said.

Putin said he personally did not have any information that Pakistan was transferring military technologies or weapons’ systems to some other countries.

Therefore, any speculation on this matter could only be theoretical. But if it was in fact happening, that would be regrettable.

To a question on the significance of his visit to India arriving directly from China and on the widely-reported trilateral cooperation between India, China and Russia, Putin said: “We are concerned of the need for positive development of relations between Russia and India, Russia and China, and China and India. I think all the parties within this triangle are interested in this development”.

To another question about Russia providing China with weaponry similar to what it provides India — Sukhoi aircraft, Kilo class submarines and advanced destroyers — when China and India have a long running border dispute, he said, “Russia was an active player in the international weapons market which was highly competitive”.

He said China and Russia were gradually settling bilateral border problems and hoped that China and India would also resolve their problem.

“At the same time, Russia is not delivering weapons to conflicting areas. This is our rule and we try to abide by this rule. There is no conflict between China and India now and I hope there will be no conflict in the future.”

“The more we keep developing relations within the triangle, to which you have referred, the more successful we will be in achieving that result,” he said.

Putin admitted that bilateral Indo-Russian trade turnover was “inadmissibly low.” Both the countries should pay more attention in the area of joint investment and establishment of joint ventures and in the area of military technical cooperation, he said.—JN