Russia is ready to organize a meeting of the leaders of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan in Moscow by the end of this summer. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated this at a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai today.
The two Presidents met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tashkent today. The Afghan President was invited to the summit as a guest.
The Presidents of Russia and Afghanistan discussed the reconstruction of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and possible expansion of Russia’s involvement in this. The Russian President invited his Afghan counterpart to pay an official visit to Russia. Russia expressed readiness to rebuild the Salang tunnel.
The two sides also discussed fighting against drug threat coming from Afghanistan. Dmitry Medvedev supported promoting bilateral cooperation in this area.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded in Shanghai, China, in June 2001. It embraces Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Iran, Mongolia, India and Pakistan enjoy its observer-state status. The Afghan President has participated in the SCO summits as a guest in the past few years.
