President of Pakistan to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin

On Sunday, July 2nd, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will leave for Tajikistan for a one-day visit to discuss the situation in the region and tension in Kashmir, the issues concerning bilateral cooperation and the construction of the trans-Afghan gas pipeline. The reporters in Islamabad were told about it by General Rashid Kureshi, the head of the military press service and personal adviser of the President.

As the diplomatic sources report, on June 3rd, Pervez Musharraf will fly from Dushanbe to Kazakhstan where he plans to meet in Alma Ata with Russian President Vladimir Putin and take part in the summit of the leaders of sixteen Asian states. The local observers point out that attention at the summit in Alma Ata will be focused on the situation in Kashmir where a very dangerous situation has arisen and is fraught with the outbreak of an open military conflict between the two South Asian countries - India and Pakistan.

This scenario is ever more dangerous, since in May 1998 the two countries conducted nuclear tests and in this way de facto joined the club of the world nuclear powers.

Vladimir Putin proposed to Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to meet and hold negotiations in Alma Ata in the context of the Asian summit.

Pervez Musharraf expressed his willingness to start a dialogue with Delhi, however, the Indian leadership says in order to make this dialogue possible Islamabad should stop supporting terrorist Muslim groups which are carrying out subversive operations in Kashmir.