PM Meets Russian NSA, Reassures Coordination On Afg

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met with Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, during which they reaffirmed their intention to strengthen coordination in the field of enhancing regional stability, including on Afghanistan.

According to the Russian Embassy here, the two discussed a wide range of issues of the Russian-Indian cooperation, as well as a number of topics of the international agenda, were touched upon.
“The two sides reaffirmed their intention to strengthen coordination in the field of enhancing the regional stability, including on the Afghan direction,” the statement read.

The embassy said that the opportunities for further development of special and privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India, “including deepening political dialogue at the highest and high levels, were discussed”.

They also spoke about the prospects for strengthening interaction in multilateral formats, including the SCO and BRICS, as well as the development of the Russian-Indian cooperation in the trade and economic sphere.

Earlier in the day, Patrushev, who is on a two-day visit to India, had meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Doval and Patrushev held high-level Inter-Governmental Consultations on Afghanistan. It was India and Russia first detailed and extensive review of the situation in Afghanistan involving the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence and security agencies after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, sources said.

According to sources, both sides expressed deep concerns over developments in Afghanistan.

There was a convergence of views between the two sides on all majors issues and common threats including the need for the Taliban to adhere to promises; the presence of international terrorist groups in Afghanistan and threats from terrorism to Central Asia and India; Islamic radicalisation and extremism; on the flow of weapons to terrorist groups and smuggling across Afghan borders and the high chances of Afghanistan becoming a hub of opium production and trafficking, the sources said.

India emphasised Pakistan’s links with the Taliban and other international terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, and the special responsibility that Pakistan bears to ensure that Afghanistan soil is not used to spread terrorism. (ANI)