Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on Monday said Pakistan knows his country's principled stand against terrorism and expressed hope that Islamabad will desist from doing anything that will destabilise South Asia.
Addressing a press conference with his Indian counterpart Yashwant Sinha, Ivanov said: "Russia condemns all forms of terrorism."
Ivanov, who spent a day in Pakistan before arriving in Delhi, however said Pakistan had taken several measures against terrorism.
In India, Ivanov has had a series of meeting with all top leaders, including Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He said during his talks with Defence Minister George Fernandes, Indo-Russian military cooperation was discussed. Referring to Indo-Russian naval exercises, he said more military cooperation was on the anvil.
On Afghanistan, the Russian foreign minister said his country had proposed an international meeting to sort out recurring problems.
Ivanov acknowledged Russia's assistance to Iran's nuclear programme, but hoped that Teheran would be able to convince the international community that it is not developing a bomb and is following all international safeguards.
Sinha said India has already made its position clear on Iran's nuclear programme. "We are against clandestine nuclear proliferation," he said, adding that he hoped Iran would prove that it does not have weapons of mass destruction.
On Iraq, Sinha said India and Russia have had regular contact to help restore peace and stability in that country, besides helping in constitution of an interim administration.
Ivanov underscored that his country welcomed India's efforts to re-establish diplomatic relations with Pakistan and that it reflected New Delhi's efforts to stabilise the situation in the region.
He said preparations are on for an Indo-Russian summit in Moscow.
Asked whether India should agree to send its troops to Iraq for peacekeeping, Ivanov said: "It is a decision of a sovereign country. We [Russia] are not sending our troops."
