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Sunday, Dec 28, 2008
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Russia concerned over troop build-up

Vladimir Radyuhin

Urges India, Pakistan to step back from the brink of war

Tension has reached a dangerous level
Talks are the only way out of the crisis

MOSCOW: Russia voiced grave concern over the build-up of troops on the border between India and Pakistan, urging the two states to step back from the brink of war.

“Russia is extremely concerned by reports of a massive build-up of troops and military equipment on both sides of the India-Pakistan border,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

“Tension in the region has reached a dangerous level. There are alarming reports that New Delhi and Islamabad are not ruling out the use of military force against each other.”

To emphasise how gravely it viewed the situation, the Foreign Ministry took the rare step of issuing a “statement” rather than the usual “communiqué for the media.”

“Russia strongly calls on India and Pakistan to show the maximum restraint and not allow the situation on the border to escalate to the use of force,” the statement said, adding that the only way out of the crisis were talks aimed at “stepping up joint efforts to fight terrorism and eliminate its hotbeds.”

“A build-up of confrontation between New Delhi and Islamabad only plays into the hands of their common enemy – the terrorist international, which is out to set India and Pakistan against each other and thereby destabilise South Asia. This scenario looks especially ominous given the fact that both states possess nuclear weapons,” the statement said.

“We hope that the governments of India and Pakistan, aware of their high responsibility for maintaining peace and security in the region, will do their utmost to defuse tension in bilateral relations through political and diplomatic means. The Russian Federation is ready to extend all necessary assistance to New Delhi and Islamabad to achieve this goal,” the Foreign Ministry said.

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