A meeting between FM Bilawal and his Russian colleague is planned. Lavrov, the Foreign Minister, is scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart today to discuss all aspects of the scope of bilateral ties.
MOSCOW: On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will meet in Moscow to discuss the whole range of their countries’ bilateral relations.
Senior representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Pakistan’s ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khan, and embassy staff members welcomed the minister earlier after his arrival at the Moscow airport.
FM Bilawal is in Russia for two days at the invitation of Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of that country. Today’s meeting between the two ministers is set to take place.
The former prime minister Imran Khan highlighted an alleged US plot to remove him from office as one of the grounds for his desire to strengthen ties with Moscow, therefore the visit is considered as significant.
On a separate trip to Moscow, Imran visited Vladimir Putin on the day the Russian leader gave the order for his army to invade Ukraine. The former premier believed he had been penalised because of that trip and his desire to pursue a separate foreign policy.
In February, while Putin was getting ready to invade Ukraine, Imran said that Washington was not pleased with his plan to travel to Moscow. Russia had invaded Ukraine hours before Trump’s meeting with Putin at the Kremlin.
The ousted prime minister later asserted, citing a diplomatic cable, that the US had forewarned him that Pakistan would suffer serious consequences if a motion of no confidence was unsuccessful.
India, a longtime strategic partner of Russia, had grown close to the US, so Moscow and Islamabad also tried to broaden their alternatives.
The US was allegedly behind Imran’s fall, according to the Russian media, but at a meeting with Shehbaz, Putin said he was ready to cooperate with Islamabad’s new government.
Pakistan is looking for ways to purchase oil and gas from Russia at reduced prices as it struggles with an economic crisis. During the recent visit of the Russian energy minister, the two parties came to an understanding that all formalities would be finished by March before Pakistan began buying Russian oil.
