Afghanistan in focus at trilateral meet in India

The foreign ministers of Russia, India and China will meet on Tuesday to discuss the threat of rising Taliban violence in Afghanistan and ways to rebuild the war-torn country.

The three ministers could also discuss the role of Pakistan in stabilising the region, Indian official and analysts said.

"All three have shared concerns about the violence emanating from Afghanistan, but there is divergence between India and China on the Pakistan military's role," said Uday Bhaskar, a New Delhi-based strategic affairs analyst.

"India would like to see what stand China takes on Pakistan."

India is locked with Pakistan in a struggle for strategic influence over Afghanistan. New Delhi sees Beijing as backing Islamabad with deep ties to the Pakistani military.

New Delhi is seeding Afghanistan with development projects worth $1.2 bn but its citizens and embassy in Kabul have come under repeated attacks from Islamist militants uneasy with Hindu-majority India's growing clout.

Many in India see the hand of Pakistan's military in these attacks. Islamabad considers Afghanistan a fall-back position in the event of war with India.

"China will seek to balance its pro-Pakistan tilt with its concerns about Islamist radicalism spilling on to Xinjiang province among the Uighurs," said an India government official.

Along with Tibet, Xinjiang is one of the most restive and politically sensitive regions in China. Uighurs are Muslims native to Xinjiang, which Islamists call East Turkistan, and have cultural ties to Turkic peoples in Central Asia.

Bhaskar said while Islamist violence in Afghanistan was not an immediate problem for Russia, it was wary of religious radicalism overhauling Central Asian countries and reaching its borders.

The three sides could also discuss their response to climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December. The three countries are among the top polluters in the world.