Moscow/Islamabad: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Monday hoped that the “strong tradition of diplomacy” of Russia would help it achieve a peaceful resolution to the raging conflict in Ukraine, and highlighted the economic consequences faced by developing countries like Pakistan due to the impact of Kremlin’s military aggression in the eastern European nation.
Bilawal, who is on his maiden trip to Moscow, is aiming to bolster economic and bilateral ties with Russia and seek discounted oil for cash-strapped Pakistan.
He made these comments after meeting his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov here.
It comes at a time when Russia’s military conflict in Ukraine showed no signs of abating after more than 11 months.
“We have a firm belief that all conflicts can be resolved peacefully and there are no obstacles which diplomacy cannot surmount. The Ukraine conflict is no exception. Developing countries like Pakistan are facing the negative consequences of the conflict in terms of economic impact,” Bilawal said, while addressing a joint press conference with Lavrov.
Bilawal exuded hope that the “strong tradition of diplomacy of Russia would help achieve the peaceful resolution of the conflict.”
He said Pakistan considered Russia an important player in West, South and Central Asia and that the country would keep up high-level contact with the Russian Federation. Apprising the media on their first meeting here, Bilawal said that their “friendly” and “detailed” discussion encompassed all aspects of bilateral relations and regional matters.
Meanwhile, Moscow and Islamabad have agreed to continue pragmatic interaction in the fight against terrorism, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the media following talks with Bilawal.
“We have decided to continue pragmatic partnership interaction on the counterterrorism track, both bilaterally — we have relevant working groups at the level of deputy ministers — and in multilateral formats, first of all in the UN and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation,” Lavrov said.
Russia and Pakistan are also discussing the possibility of resuming direct flights between the two countries.
“The aviation authorities of Russia and Pakistan discuss such a possibility, the commercial component here is also very important — these issues are under consideration,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by the official Tass news agency of Russia.
Bilawal added both Pakistan and Russia were celebrating the 75th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations and Islamabad desired to strengthen its cooperation with Russia in the fields of trade, security, defence, counter-terrorism, education and people-to-people contacts.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Moscow and met President Vladimir Putin February 24 last year, the day the Russian leader ordered a “special military operation” against Ukraine.
The former cricketer-turned-politician’s visit to Moscow became a major controversy back home as he travelled to Russia despite warnings from the US.
PTI
