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Vajpayee, Putin skip Kashmir issue

National security advisor Brajesh Mishra Tuesday denied that Kashmir figured during talks between visiting Russian President Vladamir Putin and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He was addressing newsmen at the end of the first day of talks between the two leaders.

According to him, the central issue of discussions was Afghanistan. "There was a convergence of views on the issue. The Russians have expressed concern over narco-terrorism that is spreading through Afghanistan. Discussions were substantive and open. Putin expressed support for India's claim for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council," he said.

On why the defence agreement was not signed between the two countries, he said negotiations were on with Russian officials and the defence agreement would be signed before the Russian president leaves. Talks are on for the purchase of a naval aircraft carrier, Sukhoi aircraft and Russian tanks. "The agreement will be finalised soon," he said.

He said Putin had briefed Vajpayee about the visit of a special envoy to Pakistan. "The visit was discussed, but the visit of Inter Services Intelligence chief General Mahmood was not discussed. We were told that the special envoy discussed with Pakistani officials the Taliban issue," he said.

India will have a military co-operation with Russia. This will cover almost all aspects of the defence agreements. India and Russia will also collaborate on the Afghanistan issue and how to deal with it. "Most issues will be addressed to in the joint agreement that will be released on Wednesday," he said.

"India's relations with Pakistan and Russia and Russia's relations with Pakistan were discussed during the talks. Putin explained his country's relations with Pakistan. He assured Vajpayee that relations with Pakistan would not be at the cost of relations with India," he explained.

Russia and Pakistan are two sovereign countries and they are free to discuss issues they think are of concern to them. "But we have been assured that there would be no relationship with Pakistan to the detriment of India. And we are satisfied with this assurance," Mishra said.

He denied that there was any move to forge a strategic alliance between India, Russia and China. "No such thing was discussed," he quipped. He also denied that India has signed a security agreement with Russia. "It is not a security agreement. It is a strategic partnership agreement. We have not signed any such agreement with any other country," he said.

According to Mishra, though there was a convergence of views between the countries on Afghanistan and Taliban, but there were no discussions about joint action by the two countries. "Talks were held between the two leaders on co-operation in the nuclear field. There is already co-operation between the two countries in this field. Further discussions are on," he added.

On economic and trade relations, Mishra said Putin would address a meeting of Indian businessmen in Bombay on Thursday that would spell out Russia's policy. Russia and India are keen to improve trade ties and intensive discussions have been held, he added.

He pointed out that the treaty signed between India and USSR in 1971 should not be compared with the agreement signed in 1993. ''The situation today is different. The second agreement was signed in the post-cold war situation.''

The issue of the Comprehensive Tests Ban Treaty figured during talks between Vajpayee and Putin, but it was just a passing mention.

The Putin visit: The full coverage

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