MOSCOW: In a strong signal to Pakistan on the need to stamp out terror launched from its soil and to desist from attempts to re-install an unreformed Taliban in Afghanistan, India and Russia on Monday said states abetting terrorism were as guilty as terrorist organizations.

An exceptionally forthright joint statement issued after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that "states that provide aid, abetment and shelter for such terrorist activities are themselves as guilty as the actual perpetrators of terrorism".

In a clear reference to Pakistan, the statement said states supporting terror "need to irreversibly shut down terrorist networks , organizations and infrastructure, and show tangible movement in investigating and bringing quickly to justice those responsible for acts of terrorism".

The statement went further and said "terrorist acts perpetrated under misleading slogans" were aimed at undermining territorial integrity of India and Russia, a reference to secessionists who justify the use of terrorism by invoking the once-fashionable theme of self-determination.

The statement is a much firmer and focused denunciation of support to terrorism than joint statements with other powers like the US or China in the past. "This is the strongest statement on terrorism in recent times that I can recall," said an Indian diplomat.

The tough references are a step up for India as well as for Russia which faces its own challenge of terrorism and secessionism in Chechnya.

The two leaders spoke of Mumbai attacks as acts of terror whose perpetrators must be brought to book, a significant reference given Pakistan's foot-dragging on acting against top leaders of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed even as the trial of those held so far progresses as a snail's pace.

Russia and India also made it clear that they would not brook Pakistan's attempt to rehabilitate Taliban – unless the group agreed to abide by the Afghan constitution and gave up arms – as they asked for the extension of sanctions on Taliban as the cornerstone of combating terrorism.

With the Hamid Karzai government also not averse to a dialogue with Taliban, the statement does not outright rule accommodation with the Quetta Shura , but sources said Putin remains highly sceptical about the viability of engaging with Mullah Omar's outfit or its offshoots.

Monday's engagement, said sources, comes against signs of Russia's bold desire to play as a power than build a significant coalition against mainline western powers while being on the right side of history.

Russia's ability to build an effective coalition is significant in context of Afghanistan where Putin has indicated clearly etched red lines with regard to the US withdrawal, making it evident that he expects the Americans to leave behind a workable arrangement that does not fall to terrorism. The assertiveness should be welcome to India which has its own concerns about what might unfold in Afghanistan after the Americans pull out in 2014.

In his statement after the meeting, Putin said, "We will do everything to combat terrorism and punish criminals." And Singh reciprocated, saying, "We share perceptions on a peaceful transition in Afghanistan."

India and Russia made it apparent that they were acutely conscious of Afghanistan's security scenario in the context of the "expected drawdown of international forces in 2014, in order to combat terrorism" and very vehemently ruled out a likely role for Taliban.

"The sides considered it necessary extend the sanctions regime introduced by the UN Security Council against Taliban as one of the most important tools of fighting terrorism," the joint statement said.

Although the Singh-Putin meeting did not yield much by way of signed agreements, and signing contracts for units 3 and 4 of Kudankulam will await scrutiny of legal fine print, the "strategic convergence" on issues like Afghanistan, Syria and Iran was significant.

Singh had no hesitation in acknowledging Putin's role in influencing policy outcomes in India's near and extended neighbourhood. He backed Putin's intervention in preventing a military intervention in Syria, acknowledging Russia's capacity to block impact developments in an arc that stretches from Iraq to Japan.

The confluence on terrorism saw the two sides reaffirm the UN role in tackling international terror while also declaring that there cannot be any ideological, religious, political, racial and ethnic or any other justification to acts of terrorism.