New Delhi, October 8
The visiting Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Sergey V Lavrov, discussed a wide range of issues with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh including the ways and means of dealing with new challenges in international terrorism.

Mr Natwar Singh told this correspondent after his hour-long talks with Mr Lavrov in Hyderabad House this evening that India was supportive of a new Russian resolution before the UN Security Council which proposed stringent action against States found to be encouraging terrorism in any manner.

The UN General Assembly is currently in session and the new resolutions are expected to come up for voting at the Committee-level and confirmation at the Plenary level in November-December this year.

Mr Natwar Singh also said the Foreign Ministers of India, Russia and China would meet on the sidelines of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Almaty (Kazakhastan) on October 21-22.

It is understood that the terrorism menace will come up for discussion at this meeting where the three Foreign Ministers are likely to close ranks on the subject as New Delhi and Moscow are victims of terrorism in a big way and Beijing has a declared policy of tackling terrorism with an iron hand.

Mr Lavrov’s visit is seen as largely preparatory for the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin this December. In the run-up to Mr Lavrov’s October 8-10 visit, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokesman, Mr Alexander Yakovenko, went on record saying it “will make a large contribution to the process of strengthening the many-sided cooperation between our countries and will contribute to the close coordination of Moscow’s and New Delhi’s positions with regard to the most urgent problems of international policy.”

The two Foreign Ministers, in a brief joint interaction with the Press after their talks in Hyderabad House, said they discussed cooperation in combating international terrorism, besides cooperation in defence, space, science and technology and trade.

Mr Lavrov said the two sides discussed measures for intensifying international and bilateral cooperation in combating terrorism and drug trafficking.

Asked about Moscow’s position on remarks made by Italy, Britain and Germany on expansion of G-8 and inclusion of India in it, Mr Lavrov said though the issue was not discussed, “the evolution of G-8 was certainly going to continue” and India’s inclusion in it “will help the international system”.