Moscow: Russia today (Jan 5, 2004) welcomed the meeting between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Summit in Islamabad and expressed hope that it would lead to the resumption of a full-scale dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad.

"Moscow positively views the meeting between the Prime Minister of India A B Vajpayee and President Musharraf of Pakistan on January 5 on the sidelines of 12th SAARC Summit," Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"We express hope that the meeting of the leaders of the two countries would become the starting point for the resumption of full-scale dialogue between India and Pakistan on the basis of Simla accord and Lahore agreements with the aim to resolve outstanding issues faced by them, and would play a substantial role in strengthening the foundations of stability and security, good-neighbourliness and cooperation in the South Asian region," it said in a statement.