A series of recent events bear testimony to the fact that the Russian Federation is more than willing to a broad-based relationship with Pakistan to the advantage of the two countries. After the first shipment of Russian crude oil reached Pakistan and a container brought LNG through the land route, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sought to expand and deepen cooperation with Pakistan in different fields. In a video statement issued on Monday, he pointed out that there had been different periods in bilateral relations over the past three-quarters of a century but Russia had always been interested in expanding cooperation with Pakistan, and under no circumstances has abandoned its commitments.
What the Russian Foreign Minister has proclaimed is supported by the ground realities as right from Moscow’s cooperation to help Pakistan build Pakistan Steel Mills, Russia always demonstrated its willingness to support Pakistan both in civilian and military fields. Russian leadership repeatedly expressed its commitment to invest in Pakistan including the vital project of gas pipeline from Karachi to Lahore besides willingness to help accomplish the TAPI gas pipeline and CASA-1000. If there is no desired progress it is mainly because of our state of indecision, tilt towards the West and the instability in neighbouring Afghanistan. The remarks made by the Russian FM in his video statement carry weight as he noted that their advanced and trust-based relations are founded on the concurrence of proximity of approaches to the key issues of the international agenda and that together we stand for shaping a more just and democratic multi-polar world order. It is also appreciable that the two countries are engaged in talks to strengthen cooperation in areas like security, economy, education, culture and other fields. The ongoing cooperation and future plans augur well for Pakistan as these can help stabilize the economy and realize the cherished objective of promoting regional cooperation based on inter-dependencies.
