Pak president to hold talks with Russia

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was expected in Moscow yesterday for talks with Russian leaders on his first major foreign visit since the killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will host Zardari for talks today at the Kremlin where officials from the two countries were also expected to sign agreements on cooperation in agriculture, aviation and energy, a spokesman for the Pakistan Embassy in Moscow told AFP.
"Economics will be the focus of the visit," said the spokesman, Raja Abdul Qayyum.
The three-day visit to Russia will be Zardari's first high-profile trip abroad since Laden was killed.
The Kremlin hailed the death of bin Laden as a "serious success... in the war against international terrorism" but Pakistan has expressed fury that US forces carried out the raid without informing Islamabad first.
Zardari visited Kuwait at the weekend for talks with its leaders and business executives while Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is due to visit China next week as Pakistan looks to bolster its alliances at a time of crisis.
Zardari's programme includes a tour of Skolkovo, a future high-tech centre billed as Russia's answer to Silicon Valley and a trip to the former imperial capital Saint Petersburg.
Speaking in an interview with Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency ahead of the visit, Zardari said he hoped his talks in Russia would breathe a new life into bilateral ties.
"I hope that during this visit the relations between our countries will receive a new development impetus."
The Pakistani president also said ramping up economic and political ties was in the interests of both countries.
Moscow is not usually seen as an ally of Islamabad, not least because of its historically close ties to Pakistan's traditional foe India.