ISLAMABAD: On Monday, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari expressed the hope that the United States would not interfere in the development of Pakistani-Russian ties.
According to APP, during her two-day official visit to Russia, FM Bhutto-Zardari agreed to pursue initiatives to deepen bilateral cooperation in a variety of areas, such as education, the economy, energy, and connectivity.
During a joint press conference in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister stated, “I expect that they will not interfere in bilateral relations between Pakistan and Russia” in regards to foreign interference. He was responding to a question regarding whether Pakistan had received assurances from the United States that it would not impose sanctions or block the [energy] deal.
“We will absolutely do whatever is necessary to supply our people with the necessities.” A natural disaster has left the people of Sindh, Balochistan, South Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa devastated, and recent flooding has created severe economic difficulties. “We will do everything in our power to alleviate the hardships of the poor people of Pakistan,” he added.
However, when asked in what currency Pakistan would pay for Russian oil, the foreign minister dodged the question.
He asserted that Pakistan could serve as a link between superpowers. Pakistan sees itself as a bridge-builder between superpowers because we place the same importance on our relationships with the United States and Russia.
The situation in Afghanistan and cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) were also discussed during the meeting prior to the joint presser, according to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad.
Ukraine conflict
According to APP, in response to a question about the conflict in Ukraine, Mr. Bhutto-Zardari called for the conflict to be resolved diplomatically, stating that developing nations like Pakistan were facing economic consequences.
We are of the firm belief that all conflicts can be resolved peacefully and that diplomacy can overcome all obstacles. The conflict in Ukraine is no exception. According to Mr. Bhutto-Zardari, the conflict is having a negative economic impact on developing nations like Pakistan.
He expressed the hope that Russia’s long history of diplomacy would contribute to a peaceful conflict resolution.
Pakistan’s foreign minister stated that the country would maintain high-level contacts with Russia because it saw Russia as an important player in the West, South, and Central Asia.
He stated that they had a friendly and in-depth conversation about everything from regional issues to bilateral relations. He stated that Pakistan wanted to strengthen its cooperation with Russia in the areas of trade, security, defense, counterterrorism, education, and people-to-people contacts as both countries celebrated their 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
He also talked about the summit-level meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand and the 8th meeting of the Inter-Government Commission in Islamabad, which was about working together on trade, the economy, and energy.
Afghanistan situation
The foreign minister stated that Russia and Pakistan worked well together on Afghanistan and wanted to achieve peace and stability there.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia is pleased with its military cooperation with Pakistan in response to a question about that cooperation. He stated that the two nations were engaging in routine military interactions, including joint military training and exercises.
He stated that Afghanistan was directly connected to the elimination of terrorism in the region and that they had agreed to utilize the capabilities of the SCO, particularly its Contact Group on Afghanistan, for this purpose.
Mr. Lavrov said that during their meeting, they talked about making connections in the fields of education, culture, and humanitarian aid.