Russia, India call for joint efforts on fighting terrorism

MOSCOW - Russia and India on Monday called on the international community to continue to work together on combating terrorism "without double standards", the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

They made the appeal at the tenth meeting of the Russian-Indian working group on combating international terrorism, which was presided over by the deputy foreign ministers of both countries and attended by representatives of relevant agencies, a ministry statement said.

"They reaffirmed their firm stand on the need to consolidate the efforts of the international community, led and coordinated by the UN, in the global fight against international terrorism and extremism based on the norms and principles of international law without any double standards," it said.

During the meeting, topical issues of international cooperation in countering terrorism were discussed, including the tasks of preventing terrorism, suppressing material and ideological fueling of terrorist organizations and combating the phenomenon of "foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs)."

The parties also assessed the state of terrorist threats in various regions of the world, including the Middle East, Afghanistan, and South, Southeast and Central Asia.

They informed each other about the achievements of Russia and India in the field of fighting terrorism, including the development of related legislation.

They also discussed the prospects for enhancing cooperation and information exchange in combating terrorism in a bilateral format and at key international venues, including the UN, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the statement added.

The working group, created in December 2002, meets regularly in Moscow and New Delhi.