Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 5 spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and strongly condemned the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack and expressed “full support” to India in the fight against terrorism, said a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). President Putin emphasised that the perpetrators of the heinous attack and their supporters must be brought to justice.
It was also noted that during the conversation, both the leaders reiterated their commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
PM Modi also extended greetings to President Putin on the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day and invited him for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit to be held in India later in the year.
Earlier on May 3, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S V Lavrov, in a telephonic conversation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, discussed the terrorist attack near Pahalgam. Lavrov in his call with Jaishankar called for the settlement of disagreements between Delhi and Islamabad. Lavrov called for settlements by political and diplomatic means on a bilateral basis.
Following the Pahalgam attack, India has taken strong countermeasures against Pakistan for its support of cross-border terrorism.
In the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 23, India decided to hold the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism and closes the integrated Attari Check Post. India has also declared the officials of the Pakistani High Commission persona non grata and ordered them to leave India within a week.
The union government also decided to cancel any visas provided under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) and ordered Pakistan to leave the country within 48 hours. The Government of India also immediately suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals.
Amid the ongoing tensions, India also imposed an immediate ban on the direct or indirect import and transit of all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, regardless of their import status, effectively halting bilateral trade flows, according to a notification by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
(With inputs from ANI)
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