MOSCOW- Pakistan and Russia have agreed on strengthening bilateralengagement and diversifying cooperation in various fields between the twocountries.

It was agreed during meeting between Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asifand his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday.

They expressed desire to further expand bilateral trade and agreed to worktogether under the framework of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade,Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation.

Both the Foreign Ministers expressed satisfaction at the increasingbilateral cooperation and agreed to further intensify efforts to deepencooperation in all areas of mutual interest.

They also discussed the prevailing situation in Afghanistan and itsimplications in the region. They reiterated that there was no militarysolution to the Afghan conflict and a negotiated settlement through anAfghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process was the onlyviable option for lasting peace in Afghanistan.