Russia Backs India on Surgical Strikes  

New Delhi: Russia has supported India's surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-Administerd Kashmir (PoK), saying every country has the right to defend itself, and called upon Pakistan to stop trans-border terror.

Russian Ambassador to India Alexander M. Kadakin in an interview with a private news channel said that his was the only country to say in plain words that terrorists came from Pakistan.

Russian Ambassador to India Alexander M. Kadakin said that his country had always been with India in fighting cross-border terrorism.

"Greatest human rights violations take place when terrorists attack military installations and attack peaceful civilians in India. We welcome the surgical strikes. Every country has right to defend itself," Kadakin said. Kadakin also assured that India does not need to worry about the Russia-Pakistan joint military exercises, and added that the exercises did not take place in "Pakistan-Occupied Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir".

"India should not be concerned about military exercises between Russia and Pakistan because the theme of the exercise is anti-terror fighting. That's in India's interests that we teach Pakistani army not to use itself for terror attacks against India," he added. "And the exercise was not held in any sensitive or problematic territories like Pakistan-occupied Indian state of Jammu," said the Russian Ambassador.

IANS