India, Russia commit to combat terrorism in all of its manifestations

India and Russia on Thursday reiterated their strong aversion to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there can be no justification whatsoever for any act based on ideological, religious, political, racial, ethnic or any other reason.

Expressing their condemnation of this international menace through the St. Petersburg Declaration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin said, "Together, we will continue efforts to combat international terrorism, which poses a great threat to maintenance of peace and security."

"We are convinced that the unprecedented spread of this threat requires decisive collective response on part of the entire global community, without double standards and selectivity, in accordance with international law and the UN Charter," they added.

"We urge all countries and entities to work sincerely to disrupt terrorist networks and their financing, and stop cross-border movement of terrorists. We call for early conclusion of negotiations on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to strengthen the global counter-terrorism normative and legal framework to combat this scourge," the declaration concluded.