Saturday, Jun 14, 2003
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By Vladimir Radyuhin
``At the same time we are in solidarity with our Indian friends that the main condition for Indo-Pakistani dialogue to make progress is full implementation by Islamabad of its obligations to stop infiltration of terrorists across the LoC into Jammu and Kashmir, as well as elimination of all terrorist infrastructure on Pakistan-controlled territory,'' Mr. Losyukov said in an interview to The Hindu ahead of a tour of South Asia by the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr. Igor Ivanov. Terrorism and religious extremism will dominate the agenda of Mr. Ivanov's talks in Islamabad and Delhi. The Russian Foreign Minister, who leaves Moscow on Saturday, will spend a day in Islamabad and two days in Delhi. Mr. Ivanov is the first Russian Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan since Mr. Andrei Kozyrev's trip in 1993, as Moscow tries to take advantage of Pakistan joining the U.S.-led anti-terror war to encourage it to crack down on extremist groups targeting India, Russia and Afghanistan. ``The terrorist bands operating in Russia's Chechnya and India's Jammu and Kashmir are getting funding from the same sources, (and) their leaders have received training from the same instructors, including on the territory of Afghanistan,'' Mr. Losyukov said. The Russian diplomat said Russia ``gives credit'' to Pakistan for its role in the anti-terrorist campaign in Afghanistan and efforts to control extremists at home. At the same time, during the coming talks in Islamabad ``the Russian side will reiterate its concerns regarding the threats of terrorism, extremism and illegal drug trafficking emanating from Afghanistan and Pakistan.'' Moscow ``expects Islamabad to implement all of its obligations for combating terrorism and religious extremism,'' Mr. Losyukov said, making it clear that until then Moscow would not be ready to upgrade relations with Pakistan. ``A return visit by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, (to reciprocate General Musharraf's visit to Moscow in February) would take place as the bilateral agenda expands in line with the agreements reached during Gen. Musharraf's visit.'' While expressing willingness to ``develop multi-faceted, mutually beneficial ties with Pakistan,'' Mr. Losyukov assured India that Russia would not do it ``at the cost of our traditional partners.'' The Russian diplomat praised anti-terror cooperation between India and Russia and conveyed Moscow's ``profound keenness to further coordinate'' this work with Delhi, describing it as a ``weighty component of strategic partnership between our two countries.'' The adoption of a Russian-drafted convention on combating nuclear terrorism and India's universal convention on combating international terrorism would help cement the global anti-terror coalition and strengthen its legal basis, Mr. Losyukov said. ``Terrorism is an ultimate evil and a global challenge that must be faced jointly,'' he said, adding that the anti-terror war should also target ``those who give sanctuary, financial and other support'' to terrorists.
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