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Diplomat: Pakistan, Russia Agree to Cooperate on Afghanistan
Russia and Pakistan have agreed to work together to restore peace in Afghanistan, Pakistani Ambassador to Moscow Iftikhar Murshed said here Friday.
The agreement was reached earlier this week during the visit to Islamabad by Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, the Interfax news agency quoted Murshed as saying.
"The two countries expressed their determination to fight terrorism and drug trafficking and to cooperate closely in this regard," the ambassador said.
While in Islamabad, Yastrzhembsky was received by Pakistani leader General Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani foreign and interior ministers, Murshed said.
Musharraf has invited Putin to visit Pakistan "at a mutually convenient time," the ambassador said.
The Talibans have reportedly made major advances in the northern part of the country against the Northern Alliance, which Russia supports.
Asked to comment on some media reports that Yastrzhembsky's visit to Pakistan was possibly Moscow's first step toward becoming closer to the Taliban movement, Murshed said "the Talibans are a reality and have been the dominant factor in Afghanistan for the last several years."
"It is for the Russian government to decide what their policy should be toward the Taliban," Murshed said.
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