Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Saturday that he and Rumsfeld discussed the role of Russia's special services in the U.S.-led campaign.

"Today we discussed concrete forms of cooperation," Ivanov told reporters after Rumsfeld's meeting with Putin, in which he also took part.

"To a large extent, it concerns Russia's use of special services and here I cannot comment any further," said Ivanov, who had had separate talks with Rumsfeld earlier that day.

Putin said he was impressed with the new level of cooperation between the Cold War foes.

"After the meeting with the U.S. president in Shanghai we witnessed a further rapprochement between the power structures including special services," he said in reference to his meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on the fringes of the regional summit in China.

However, Ivanov once again ruled out the possibility of sending Russian troops to Afghanistan. "I see no reason why we should change our position," he said.

Both defense chiefs downplayed the two nations' conflict over the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, negotiated during the Cold War, and emphasized instead the importance of discussing non-proliferation.

Rumsfeld declined to give details of any progress made Saturday during his talks with Putin and Ivanov on the U.S. plans to deploy a national missile shield, saying he would leave it to Bush and Putin to announce any results at their Nov. 13-15 summit in Washington and at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.

"I suppose that at the moment that presidents like to announce things, they announce things," Rumsfeld said.

He reiterated Bush's desire to "move beyond" the ABM Treaty and create "a new framework for the 21st century."

"We had good discussions as to how we go about doing that," Rumsfeld said.

Late Saturday, Rumsfeld paid a lightning visit to Tajikistan, where he announced the creation of a special assessment team to look into possible cooperation with the former Soviet nation.

Rumsfeld reported no immediate agreement on any military cooperation after his hour-long talks with President Emomali Rakhmonov, Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov, Defense Minister Sherali Khairullayev and other senior officials.

Asked whether Tajikistan already was helping in the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan, he said: "No, with the exception of overflights."

From Dushanbe, Rumsfeld sped on to Uzbekistan, where he expressed gratitude for the country's support. Uzbekistan has at least 1,000 U.S. troops on its soil and has offered its Khanabad air base for humanitarian and search-and-rescue operations.

After arriving Sunday in Pakistan -- his second-to-last destination before a final stop in India -- Rumsfeld said that four weeks of U.S. bombing has greatly weakened the Taliban's ability to operate as a government in Afghanistan.

"The Taliban [are] not really functioning as a government," he said.

Militarily, the Taliban are "using their power in enclaves throughout the country to impose their will on the Afghan people," Rumsfeld said. But he added, "they are not making major military moves. They are pretty much in static positions."

In an attempt to keep the United States from hitting Taliban military targets, they were using mosques as military command centers and for storing ammunition, and were placing tanks near hospitals and schools, and are "actively lying about civilian casualties," Rumsfeld said.

He spoke after talks with Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf, who has called for a break in the bombing during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins around Nov. 17.

President Bush already has said the bombing was likely to continue through Ramadan. Rumsfeld gave no indication that stand had changed.

"The reality is that the threat of additional terrorist acts is there," he said. The United States will be sensitive to the views in the region, he added, but he declined to outline the U.S. military plans.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Abdul Satter, who appeared with Rumsfeld at the news conference, said his country wanted the military campaign to be as brief as possible -- but it also needed to achieve its objectives.