Russian Defence Minister: Russian Military Will Not Participate In Afghan Anti-terror Operation

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov has confirmed that Russian servicemen would not participate in the Afghan anti-terrorism operation. He made this statement on Saturday, following the Kremlin negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in which Ivanov was a participant. Sergei Ivanov added that "none of our partners has asked us to do so." "There is no point in it," the Minister said. According to him, at issue was improvement of the "qualitative parameters" of bilateral cooperation in combating terrorism. During the talks, Putin and Rumsfeld discussed the forms of interaction, which, according to Ivanov, "basically refer to the secret services.". That's why the Russian Minister spilled off no more details.