New Delhi: India and Russia on Friday condemned cross-border terrorism and providing safe havens to terrorists as they called for a “decisive” response to the menace of international terrorism without any “double standards”.
India has been accusing Pakistan of indulging in cross-border terrorism and giving support to groups operating from its soil to target neighbouring countries.
In a joint statement issued after the 19th India-Russia annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two countries agreed to “converge their efforts” to eradicate terrorist networks, their sources of financing, arms and fighters’ supply channels, to counter terrorist ideology, propaganda and recruitment.
The strong statement denouncing cross-border terrorism assumes significance in the wake of India’s long-standing ally Russia warming up to Pakistan recently.
“The sides denounced terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated the need to combat international terrorism with decisive and collective response without any double standards,” said the statement titled ‘India-Russia: an Enduring Partnership in a Changing World’.
“Our two countries have common interests in cooperating on countering terrorism,” Modi said during his joint press statement with Putin.
On his part, Putin said the two countries have agreed to step up cooperation in combating the menace of terrorism and drug trafficking.
The two sides condemned all kinds of state support to terrorists, including cross border terrorism, and providing safe havens to terrorists and their network, the statement said. Recognising the importance of adopting the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, pending in the United Nations, to become part of the international law, both sides called upon the international community to make sincere efforts towards its early conclusion, it said.
To address the threats of chemical and biological terrorism, the two countries supported and emphasised the need for launching multilateral negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament on an international convention for the suppression of acts of chemical and biological terrorism.
At the bilateral summit, India and Russia also declared their support to Afghan government’s efforts towards the realisation of an Afghan-led, and Afghan-owned national peace reconciliation process.
“Concerned with the unabated violence and severely undermined security situation in Afghanistan and its adverse effect on the region, the sides resolved to work through the Moscow Format, SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan, and all other recognised formats for an early resolution to the long-term conflict in Afghanistan, end terrorist violence, external safe havens and sanctuaries for terrorists and the worsening drug problem in the country,” the statement said.
The joint statement also talked about special attention to be paid to the issues of security and stability, including combating terrorism, illegal drug-trafficking and organised crime, thereby increasing effectiveness of cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure. Russia welcomed the participation of India in the counter-terror military exercise “Peace Mission — 2018”, the statement said.
$5 billion S-400 deal
India and Russia signed the USD 5 billion S-400 air defence system deal on Friday after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, official sources said.
The agreement was signed in the presence of both the leaders at the 19th India-Russia annual bilateral summit.
The S-400 missile defence system deal could result in US sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) instituted by the US Congress on arms purchases from Russia.
The US has urged its allies to forgo transactions with Russia, warning that the S-400 missile defence system that India wanted to buy would be a “focus area” for it to implement punitive sanctions against a nation undertaking “significant” business deals with the Russians.
American lawmakers, however, have allowed the possibility of a presidential waiver. India wants the long-range missile systems to tighten its air defence mechanism, particularly along the nearly 4,000-km-long Sino-India border.
S-400 is known as Russia’s most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system. China was the first foreign buyer to seal a government-to-government deal with Russia in 2014 to procure the lethal missile system.
Moscow has already started delivery of an undisclosed number of the S-400 missile systems to Beijing. (PTI)
