Pakistan just a junta with nuclear weapons: Putin to George W Bush

New Delhi: Newly released transcripts of conversations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the then US President George W Bush, made public this week by the 'National Security Archive', indicate significant concerns about Pakistan's nuclear weapons. The documents, covering meetings and calls from 2001 to 2008, highlight how both leaders viewed Pakistan, under military ruler Pervez Musharraf, a major non-proliferation headache. In their first personal meeting on June 16, 2001, in Slovenia, Putin voiced stark worries about the country's stability. "I am concerned about Pakistan," he told Bush. "It is just a junta with nuclear weapons. It is no democracy, yet the West does not criticise it. Should talk about it." Putin almost echoed views that India has held on Pakistan for decades. - Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury