President Vladimir Putin met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Kremlin on Thursday in his first face-to-face talks since the start of a special Russian military operation in eastern Ukraine and the two leaders discussed the main aspects of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on current regional topics, including "developments in South Asia".

Khan, who arrived in Russia on Wednesday on a two-day visit - the first by a Pakistani premier in over two decades, began his engagements in Moscow by laying a wreath at `Tomb of the Unknown Soldier`, hours after the Russian President ordered a special military operation in eastern Ukraine, ignoring last-minute appeals and warnings from the West. During the meeting in the Kremlin, the leaders of the two countries "discussed the main aspects of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on current regional topics, including developments in South Asia," said a brief statement issued by the Russian President`s office - Kremlin.