Moscow not mulling to join CPEC: Russian foreign ministry

Rebuttal comes after reports claiming Russia and Pakistan held 'secret' talks for ties in the mega project

The Russian foreign ministry has refuted media reports which said Pakistan and Russia have held ‘secret negotiations’ for cooperation in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

#Moscow is not discussing the possibility of joining the #China-#Pakistan Economic Corridor project with #Islamabad https://t.co/QKKu2cIpmm pic.twitter.com/vny7XkTfK3

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) November 29, 2016

Reports last week claimed that the Russian spy chief had made a visit to Pakistan to inspect the Gwadar port.

“The Pakistani media reports about “secret negotiations” between Russia and Pakistan on the implementation of projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are not true to the facts,” the statement of Russian Information and Press Department read.



“Moscow is not discussing the possibility of joining this project with Islamabad."

The corridor is about 3,000-kilometre long consisting of highways, railways and pipelines that will connect China’s Xinjiang province to the rest of the world through Gwadar port.

The Russian government, however, said it would strengthen economic ties with Pakistan as cooperation between both countries has inherent values.

“Russian companies are implementing business projects in Pakistan, including the planned construction of the North-South gas pipeline from Karachi to Lahore, on a bilateral basis.”