Jul 6th, 2009 | MOSCOW -- Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev (dih-MEE'-tree med-VYEH'-dyev) have signed a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to fighting terrorists and drug traffickers in Afghanistan, one of eight agreements to come out of extended meetings on the first day of the Moscow summit.
The White House said the U.S. and Russian leaders also vowed to press forward jointly with bettering the Afghan economy, social structures and living standards.
Defeating Taliban and al-Qaida allied militants in Afghanistan is one of Obama's top foreign policy objectives. The Russians have shown considerable sympathy for the administration's drive, particularly because the illicit flow of opium and heroin that is plaguing the Russian federation.
The Russians also are deeply concerned about the expansion of Islamic extremism in the former Soviet republics that border Afghanistan.
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