India, Russia discuss terror

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 26

Defence Ministers of India and Russia today conducted their annual meeting on military-technical cooperation where terrorism was discussed. The two countries followed up on the recent defence agreements agreed upon during the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Goa on October 15. This was the 16th such meeting.

Leading the Indian side, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Russian delegation, led by his counterpart General Sergey Shoigu, that one of the key security challenges faced by India was that of cross-border terrorism. “Russia has also been actively engaged in efforts to eliminate terrorists in West Asia. We both recognise that the menace of terrorism cannot be defeated with ‘double standards’. There is a need for ‘zero tolerance’ and collective efforts to combat terrorism.” Parrikar said

The Russian Defence Minister was quoted by the Russian media as saying: “What is absolutely unacceptable in terms of the fight against terrorism is the use of the double or even, at times, triple standards…. The serious consolidation of all reasonable powers is necessary to fight this 21st century’s evil”.