Putin, Blair discuss future of Afghanistan

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, OCT. 5. The post-war political arrangement in Afghanistan was one of the subjects discussed by the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, during his lightning visit to Moscow on Thursday night, Russian sources said.

It was crucial for Mr. Blair to sound out the Russian position on the issue before he met General Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad on Friday. Moscow, which is the prime backer of the Northern Alliance, would like the anti-Taliban forces to play a leading role in the future coalition government in Afghanistan. However, the U.S. will hate to see Afghanistan revert to the Russian sphere of influence, the sources said. In its turn, Pakistan is keen to ensure that ``friendly'' Pushtuns continue to dominate the Afghan political scene.

With India and Russia sharing very close views on the post-war Afghanistan, Mr. Blair's talks in Delhi can be regarded as the next stage of his consultations in Moscow after he has discussed the issue with Gen. Musharraf.

After the talks, the Russian and British leaders sought to stress proximity of their views. ``We fully share all the main ideas you set out in your speech in (British) Parliament (on Thursday),'' the Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, said.

For his part, Mr. Blair hailed Russia's support for the anti- terrorist struggle and said the two countries shared a ``unified'' approach to the problem.

``We have met as partners to find answers to today's challenges,'' Russian agencies quoted Mr. Blair as saying.

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Section  : International
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