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Central, South Asian Leaders Meet in Russia

   VOA News 18 August 2010
   From  left,  Tajik  President  Emomali Rakhmon, Afghan President Hamid
   Karzai,  Pakistani  President  Asif  Ali Zardari and Russian President
   Dmitry Medvedev seen before posing for a photo in the Black Sea resort
   of Sochi, southern Russia, 18 Aug 2010

Photo: AP

   From  left,  Tajik  President  Emomali Rakhmon, Afghan President Hamid
   Karzai,  Pakistani  President  Asif  Ali Zardari and Russian President
   Dmitry Medvedev seen before posing for a photo in the Black Sea resort
   of Sochi, southern Russia, 18 Aug 2010

   Russia   is  hosting  the  presidents  of  Pakistan,  Afghanistan  and
   Tajikistan  in  a  summit  aimed  at  coordinating  efforts  to battle
   terrorism and counter regional drug trafficking.
   Ahead  of  Wednesday's  summit,  Russian President Dmitri Medvedev met
   separately  with  Pakistan  President  Asif Ali Zardari and his Afghan
   counterpart,  Hamid  Karzai.  Tajik  President  Emomali Rakhmon, whose
   country borders Afghanistan, was also participating.
   The  summit  features  a rare direct encounter between Mr. Zardari and
   Mr.  Karzai,  whose Kabul government has repeatedly accused Pakistan's
   powerful  intelligence  agency of supporting the Taliban. Pakistan has
   adamantly denied the allegations.
   NATO  has  urged  Russia to provide military hardware and training for
   Afghan  forces,  and  Moscow  has said it is willing to help. However,
   Russia  has  made clear it has no plans to send troops to Afghanistan,
   where  the  Soviet  Union  waged a decade-long war in the 1980s before
   withdrawing.
   Earlier  Wednesday,  a Russian presidential aide said the four leaders
   would  also discuss efforts to boost cooperation in the trade, energy,
   investment and transportation sectors.
   Russia  is also expected to offer further aid to flood-hit Pakistan at
   the  summit. Moscow has already sent a planeload of emergency supplies
   for flood victims.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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