MOSCOW: Russia is ‘very much concerned’ about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, and the country must be stabilised before peace can be achieved in Afghanistan, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said in an interview with US television.
‘It’s obvious to anybody that the Pak-Afghan border is a safe haven for terrorists, for the Taliban,’ Ivanov said.
‘They hit and run back to Pakistan. So you have to deal with both. Both are very unstable.’
He emphasised Russian resolve to toughen ineffective nuclear controls in cooperation with the US.
‘We obviously see that the present system of missile nonproliferation doesn’t work,’ he said. ‘More and more countries are laying their hands on very dangerous missile technologies.’
Dawn (Pakistan)
