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President Putin and Prime Minister Vajpayee discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral relations during the talks, which started with restricted attendance but later involved the delegations.

Mr Putin and Mr Vajpayee signed two Russian-Indian declarations—on the further strengthening of strategic partnership and on the strengthening and stepping-up of economic and scientific-technical cooperation. They also made a joint statement.

A memorandum on the establishment of a joint ad hoc team to counteract international terrorism was signed in the national leaders’ presence.

Among other documents signed after the talks were a memorandum of mutual understanding between the Russian Ministry of Information Technology and Communications and the Indian Ministry of Communications on cooperation in telecommunications, and a protocol on the protection and uses of Intellectual Property Rights.

When addressing a news conference after the signing ceremony, Mr Putin said, in particular, that the Russian and Indian stances on essential international problems were close or even the same. The issues concerned, above all, were guarantees of strategic stability and security, the fight against international terrorism, extremism, separatism and international crime. The evaluations of the situation in Afghanistan were also similar in many respects.