Moscow, Nov 12: Cementing their strategic partnership further, India and Russia today signed a declaration that they will resist terrorism "with their full might" after talks between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Vladimir Putin who discussed "developments of concern in their common neighbourhood." The seven-page declaration on "global challenges and threats to world security and stability" was signed by the two leaders at Kremlin after wide-ranging discussions in which the threat posed by terrorism was a major subject.

Significantly, the joint statement to be issued tomorrow morning at the conclusion of Vajpayee's three-day visit will bring out in clear terms the Russian endorsement of Indian stand that Pakistan should fully implement its assurances on preventing infiltration from across the Line of Control and other points. The statement is also expected to emphasis the need for Islamabad to dismantle all the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan occupied Kashmir as a prerequisite before a peaceful dialogue could be resumed to resolve all outstanding issues in a bilateral framework.

Dismissing speculation that Putin would convey a message to Vajpayee on Kashmir following his recent discussions with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said the outcome of today's summit showed "there is nothing in the Russian position which should be of concern to us."

The Prime Minister announced in the presence of Putin that the two countries have decided to strengthen and widen cooperation against terrorism both in bilateral and multilateral fora while the Russian leader voiced his support to Vajpayee's new initiative to improve relations with Pakistan. "We have a joint working group, which meets regularly to exchange information and analysis of terrorist threats in our region. In this context, we discussed the developments of concern of our common neighbourhood," he said.

The two countries also signed nine agreements, five of them relating to cooperation in the field of science and technology and the remaining on trade and investment.

Bureau Report