Igor Ivanov Says That The Responsibility Of Russia, India And China For The Formation Of A Reliable System Of Security And Stability In The World, Especially In Asia, Increases Noticeably

Today the responsibility of Russia, India and China for the formation of a reliable system of security and stability in the world, especially in Asia, is noticeably increasing, Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov told the Indian newspaper Hindu. According to him, coordinated efforts of the three countries to make their positions closer to each other and elaborate common approaches to the topical regional and international issues would, in Russia's opinion, meet the interests of stability in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world as a whole. No doubt, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said, the joint actions against such a challenge as international terrorism can also become an important aspect of interaction between Russia, India and China. Replying to the question, Ivanov also said that Pakistan is quite a weighty element of the geo-political situation in South Asia. Its influence is felt on the CIS southern borders and in the Islamic world as a whole. As the Russian foreign minister said, long before the tragic September 11 events Russia began a dialogue seeking interaction with Islamabad in the interests of countering the threats of trans-border terrorism, Islamic extremism and the flow of drugs, all coming from Afghanistan. "Unfortunately, these efforts were not met with a large response in Pakistan," Igor Ivanov said. "But it turned out that Pakistan itself largely became the hostage of radical, extremist elements acting on its territory and found itself in a difficult situation." The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that in Russia there is no alien attitude toward that country. Moscow, he said, positively perceived the decisions taken by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in connection with the terrorist acts in the USA and the US actions in Afghanistan. "It can be hoped that this is a realized and sincere turn towards real struggle with terrorism in all its forms and manifestations."