Indian PM, Pakistani President to Hold Talks in Russia

Indian PM, Pakistani President to Hold Talks in Russia

By VOA News  15 June 2009

Indian PM Manmohan Singh, left, hugs Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari (File)

Officials in Russia and India say Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari are planning to meet on the sidelines of a regional summit in Russia.

The two leaders of the rival neighbors will be in Yekaterinburg for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The meeting between Mr. Singh and Mr. Zardari would be their first face-to-face talks since the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last November. 

India has blamed the assault on the Pakistan-based organization Lashkar-e-Taiba. The banned militant group has denied taking part in the attacks, which left more than 170 people dead and at least 300 others wounded. 

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an inter-governmental organization founded in east China's Shanghai municipality to strengthen regional trust and security.  

China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan founded the organization in 2001, and Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran and India later received observer statuses.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.