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Vladimir Putin: First of all, I would like to say that I am very grateful to the Federal Chancellor for coming to Moscow in spite of his very taxing and tight schedule.

It has been a very strenuous tour which we in Moscow have followed too. After all, he was in the region to which the attention of the world is riveted and which is very important for the fight against terror. Of course, the Federal Chancellor briefed me on the results of his visit. For my part, I told him about my meetings in Shanghai, including my meeting with President Bush, and I told him about my contacts with the leadership of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, with the Northern Alliance. So, our talks ranged far beyond the topic of the counterterrorist operation, they touched upon bilateral relations, anti-missile defence and, of course, the situation in Afghanistan and the situation connected with the fight against terror in general.

I have to say that the positions of Russia and Germany on the Afghan issue practically coincide, or are very close. I got the impression that our experience and our information on the events there interested Mr Chancellor and were useful for the German leadership. But I would disagree with you that the situation in Afghanistan is not developing as the antiterrorist coalition would like it to develop and that the operation in Afghanistan “is stalling”. No one ever promised a “triumphant march” through Afghanistan. Our colleague, US President George Bush, has repeatedly said that it would be a long struggle and it would require great efforts and probably sacrifice. As we know, the actions of the American armed forces and the actions of the Northern Alliance are pursued on the understanding that everything should be done to minimise civilian casualties. That makes the conduct of the counterterrorist operation more difficult.

Of course, we discussed with the Federal Chancellor ways to coordinate our efforts in the joint fight against terror in the future. It has been a useful exchange of opinions for me. Thank you.

Gerhard Schroeder: I don’t have much to add. First of all, I would like to say that I came here with great pleasure even though my own biological clock shows 4.30 a.m., we were flying here straight from China.

I have come here to brief President Putin on the situation regarding the antiterrorist coalition. And of course I was very much interested to know what the Russian President thinks about it. We did not discuss the military details of the counterterrorist operation, but I fully share the Russian President’s opinion that the pessimism expressed by some observers does not correspond to the real state of affairs. Our opinions on the need to fight terrorism have coincided. We are both interested in the preservation of the antiterrorist coalition and we will both do all we can towards this end. On the other hand, not only the military aspect, but also the humanitarian and political aspects must be taken into account.

As regards the political perspective, we are one in stressing the need to create a post-Taliban government in Afghanistan whose members would represent all the strata of the population. These issues must be solved under the UN control. Today we should concentrate our efforts on solving the problem of refugees.

As for the other issues discussed, I personally think that the Russian President’s visit to the Untied States will have historic significance, including, in particular, for the solution of the disarmament issue.