Medvedev meets Zardari, assures more aid to Pak

Russia has promised all possible support to Pakistan in dealing with catastrophic floods, even as the second Russian Il-76 cargo plane with emergency relief is scheduled to land in Islamabad on Thursday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hosted his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari in the Black Sea resort of Sochi and discussed the flood situation in the country, terrorism and the situation in the region, especially Afghanistan.

Zardari is in Russia to attend the quadrilateral summit hosted by Medvedev with his counterparts from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

The summit will discuss cooperation in Af-Pak peace process, combating terrorism, drug trafficking and promoting economic interaction.

Welcoming Zardari, the Russian president said his country was ready to provide more assistance to Pakistan to deal with the worst-ever floods.

"This is a severe disaster which caused many deaths and unfortunately brought great damage. We mourn with you and are ready to provide assistance to the Pakistani people. You can count on us," Medvedev said.

"We would like to continue cooperating in fighting terrorism, drug trafficking and international crimes. That's why everything we discussed earlier could be continued, even though there is a good political dialogue, it is very important to develop economic ties," Medvedev said in his televised remarks at bilateral meeting with Zardari.

Medvedev, who has met Zardari four times in nearly two years, regretted that there has been no progress in bilateral economic cooperation.

"I hope that we will be able to continue discussing this issue now in terms of bilateral economic cooperation and four-party cooperation in a number of projects," Medvedev was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

During his bilateral parleys with Medvedev, Zardari was accompanied by his Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir.