RUSSIA: PAKISTANI PM NAWAZ SHARIF VISITS

(20 Apr 1999) Eng/Russ/Nat

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has arrived in Moscow for three days of talks on the two countries' political disagreements and prospects for economic co-operation.

It is the first visit to Russia by a Pakistani head of government since 1974.

Sharif met with Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and other officials.

The Pakistani Prime Minister is also expected to meet President Boris Yeltsin.

Russia has traditionally had warm relations with Pakistan's arch rival, India.

Relations with Pakistan were cool during the Cold War, partly because of the deployment of Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s, but have improved in recent years.

The talks in Moscow are expected to touch on the situation in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and the disputed region of Kashmir, which is claimed by both Pakistan and India.

SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
"I want to tell you that our team is working together and our team is following a united course of action. That is what defines the similarities of these situations between regional confrontations concerning Pakistan and the situation in Yugoslavia".
SUPER CAPTION: Yevgeny Primakov, Russian Prime Minister

SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
"Russia has taken and maintains the position that nations developing nuclear weapons but which have not been defined as nuclear powers comply with all international laws concerning the distribution of nuclear weapons, and their testing."
SUPER CAPTION: Yevgeny Primakov, Russian Prime Minister

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We consider Russia has a role crucial in providing the requisite support to our endeavors for regional peace and security...thank you."
SUPER CAPTION: Nawaz Sharif, Pakistani Prime Minister

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