FM Bilawal to meet Russian counterpart Lavrov today

Foreign minister to discuss entire spectrum of bilateral relations with his Russian counterpart

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari arrives in Moscow on an official visit. PHOTO: TWITTER

MOSCOW:

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will hold talks with senior officials in Moscow, including his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, on Monday regarding the entire spectrum of bilateral relations between the two nations.

Earlier on his arrival at Moscow airport, the minister was received by senior officials of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Pakistan’s ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khan and officials of the embassy.

FM Bilawal is on a two-day visit to Russia at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The two ministers are scheduled to meet today for official talks.

The visit is seen as significant given the fact that former prime minister Imran Khan cited his push to deepen ties with Moscow as one of the reasons behind his ouster through an alleged US conspiracy.

Read Russian gas to be sent to Pakistan by land

Imran travelled to Moscow on a bilateral visit and met Russian President Vladimir Putin the day he ordered Russian forces to invade Ukraine. The former premier was convinced that he was punished for that visit and his intent to pursue an independent foreign policy.

Imran claimed that Washington was not happy with his decision to visit Moscow in February as Putin was preparing to invade Ukraine. Hours before his meeting with Putin at the Kremlin, Russia had invaded Ukraine.

The ousted prime minister later claimed citing a diplomatic cable that the US had warned him that if a vote of no confidence did not succeed Pakistan would have to pay a heavy price.

As Russia’s long-standing strategic ally, India, had developed close ties with the US, Moscow and Islamabad, too, tried to diversify their options.

After Imran’s ouster, the Russian media blamed the US for being behind it but in a meeting with Shehbaz, Putin indicated that he was willing to work with the new dispensation in Islamabad.

Pakistan, beset with an economic crisis, is exploring options to import oil and gas from Russia at discounted rates. The two sides during the recent visit of the Russian energy minister reached an agreement to complete all the formalities by March before Pakistan started importing Russian oil.

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