Russia and Pakistan will join forces in their common fight against terrorism, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said during a meeting at the Kremlin on Thursday with President Asif Ali Zardari. "It is clear that our two countries are exposed to the same danger, to international terrorism," Medvedev said.
It was Zardari's first foreign visit since the killing of terrorist Osama bin Laden by United States forces in Pakistan earlier in the month. "We must work together to fight the worst evils of the 21st century," Medvedev said. Zardari spoke of a "new start" in bilateral relations between the two countries. He is scheduled to be in Russia for four days.
Russia is keen to widen its economic links to Central and South Asia, and particularly in Pakistan to counterbalance the growing influence in the region by India and China. A key project is a planned increase of Russian electricity supplies to Pakistan and Afghanistan via the Central Asian Republic Tajikistan.
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