Russo-Ukraine thaw needed

The Russo-Ukrainian war is now literally toiling economic security. Apart from plunging the region in a hybrid warfare, it poses the threat of engulfing the world in a catastrophe. This is why Foreign Minister Bilawal Zardari’s contention that the crisis is in need of a diplomatic solution is rightly in place. He extended his views as he met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, and underlined the need for scaling down tensions in the region too. The horrifying impact of the conflict is now widely felt as it interrupted the energy corridor from Russia to Europe, and likewise hampered the supply chain of food grains from Ukraine.

Kyiv, being the grain basket for Asia and Africa, is earnestly in need of peace. The world is sliding towards a recession and the biting cold in Europe and elsewhere has made life miserable for billions of people, and it is all owing to the state-centric conflict in which Russia and Ukraine are involved. But the most unfortunate aspect is that the West and the United States had fueled the war and done little to tone down the fissures of death and destruction. The Ukraine episode solicits some astute diplomacy, and one unsaid element is that the European Union should give up its eastward expansion as a gesture to woo Moscow for a thaw.

Pakistan, as it reaches out to the Kremlin, has plans to address its energy and security needs in the long run. A series of high-level contacts in a year or so between the two countries testify the ingrained depth of cooperation, and one of its prime elements is that Pakistan is eager for a camp-free regional amalgamation. This is why talks are underway to address all technical issues, such as insurance, transportation, and payment mechanisms, likely to be in indigenous currencies. An accord is round the corner hopefully by March for the supply of Russian oil and other petroleum products at discounted rates. This also includes a 1500 km pipeline that will transport gas to Pakistan’s south. The crux, nonetheless, lies in the fact that the discord must come to an end.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2023.

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