Vladimir Putin Leaves For Moscow After Talks In Dushanbe

After negotiating with the Presidents of Tajikistan and Afghanistan -- Emomali Rakhmonov and Burhanuddin Rabbani -- President Vladimir Putin of Russia left for Moscow on Monday morning In the capital of Tajikistan where the Russian leader arrived at 2 a.m. local time, Vladimir Putin had bilateral and trilateral meetings discussing the problems of Afghanistan and the future of that country's state and political structure during the post-Taliban period. The Presidents of Russia, Tajikistan and Afghanistan -- Vladimir Putin, Emomali Rakhmonov and Burhanuddin Rabbani -- said at a joint press-conference held at 5 o'clock in the morning that they had adopted a special statement on the results of their talks, in which the viewpoints of the sides in evaluating the military, political and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, as well as its future state and political structure "fully coincide." The presidents stressed that for a long-term settlement of the situation in Afghanistan it is necessary to speed up the political settlement process. The three leaders noted that they are ready to take an active part in that important work.