MOSCOW: Russia and China have called for expanding trilateral cooperation with India.

Triangular interaction ``enhances mutually beneficial economic cooperation among the three nations, strengthens their coordination in facing new challenges and threats, especially that of international terrorism, [and] contributes to the cause of promoting peace and stability in Asia and throughout the world,'' Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Hu Jintao said in a Joint Declaration signed after their talks in the Kremlin.

First summit

The Russian and Chinese leaders noted that the first trilateral summit meeting held on the sidelines of the G-8 meeting in St. Petersburg last July ``gave new impetus to broader multi-faceted interaction among the three countries.''

The Joint Declaration also hailed the emerging quadrangular cooperation in the Russia-India-China-Brazil format.

The Chinese leader arrived in Russia on Monday for a three-day official visit, which saw the two sides signing deals worth $4.3 billion. The two sides reiterated their plans to double bilateral trade to $60 billion by 2010.

Call to Iran

Russia and China called on Iran to fulfil the U.N. Security Council's resolution on its controversial nuclear programme even as they stressed the need for a peaceful solution to the problem.

``Russia and China emphasise that the problem of Iran's nuclear programme should be resolved exclusively in a peaceful way, through negotiations,'' the Joint Declaration said.

``Russia and China will make every effort to ensure the rapid start of negotiations and to find a long-term, all-encompassing and mutually acceptable resolution to the Iranian nuclear problem,'' the Declaration added.

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