Medvedev welcomes Zardari, Karzai

YEKATERINBURG, Russia, June 16 (UPI) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev welcomed the leaders from Afghanistan and Pakistan on Tuesday to discuss trilateral counter-terrorism efforts.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Yekaterinburg ahead of the ninth summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Medvedev in a joint news conference said he advocated a trilateral mechanism to tackle regional issues, the Kremlin said.

"I think that if we can create an efficient mechanism, particularly a trilateral one, it would be beneficial to our peoples and conducive to resolving the major challenges before us," the Russian president noted.

Karzai, for his part, welcomed the move toward broader cooperation, adding counter-terrorism and crime-prevention efforts came "first and foremost" in any discussion on regional issues.

Zardari expressed similar sentiments, linking economic issues to growing instability, which he referred to as "cancerous."

"To accomplish our mission we have to accept new responsibilities, including that of fighting terrorism, which is a cancerous threat to my country, to Afghanistan, to your country, and to the entire world," he said.

Medvedev also met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had delayed his trip to Russia amid ongoing turmoil in Tehran related to the disputed Friday presidential contest.