Putin, Clinton to discuss Taliban, Pak

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, JUNE 2. The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan will be on the agenda of a three-day Russian-American summit opening in Moscow this weekend, the Itar-Tass news agency reported on Friday.

The Russian and the U.S. Presidents, Mr. Vladimir Putin and Mr. Bill Clinton, will discuss the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the framework of their talks on global challenges to security, including international terrorism and organised crime, the Itar-Tass said quoting a ``high-ranking Russian expert.''

Mr. Clinton, who arrives in Moscow on Saturday night, will hold several sessions of talks with Mr. Putin, lasting 10 hours, before leaving for Ukraine on Monday. The agenda of the talks includes some 20 topics, ranging from arms control to economic cooperation, the Itar-Tass said.

Diplomatic sources said Mr. Putin would try to enlist U.S. support or at least neutrality for Russia's possible military action against the Taliban. Worried over the Taliban's growing support for Chechen rebels, Moscow has threatened to attack terrorist-training camps in Afghanistan.

The tone for the coming discussions on international terrorism at the Moscow summit was set by the Russian-American Foreign Ministry consultations in Moscow last week. A joint statement issued at the end of the consultations voiced `serious concern' over the Taliban's support for terrorism and the ``growing influence of extremist groups in Pakistan,'' which have ``links to international terrorist networks.'' However, according to the Itar-Tass, Washington has turned down Moscow's proposal to sign a joint statement at the summit on combating international terrorism and illegal drug-trafficking.

The situation in South Asia is likely to come up in the context of a planned discussion of nuclear security, including the problem of non-proliferation. During last week's consultations in Moscow the sides voiced concern over the ``persisting challenge to the nuclear and missile non-proliferation'' in South Asia and called on India and Pakistan to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

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