…KEEPS ITS DISTANCE FROM PAKISTAN.

On the eve of Primakov’s departure for New Delhi, Russian officials made clear that there would be no significant near-term upgrading of relations between Russia and India’s main regional rival, Pakistan. A Russian Foreign Ministry official said March 28 that Russia had no plans to develop military-technical cooperation with Pakistan. That view was echoed the next day by a Trade Ministry official, who added that political considerations would also restrict more general trade turnover between the two countries. Moscow’s coolness came despite calls by Pakistan’s ambassador to Russia for closer relations. Tanvir Ahmad Khan called Russia a "global power" and said that Islamabad regards as "legitimate" Russia’s ambitions in the CIS. He also emphasized that Pakistan considers Chechnya to be Russia’s internal affair and reiterated that there are no Pakistani nationals fighting in Chechnya, as has been alleged by