Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan became the first world leader to visit Russia after the Russia-Ukraine crisis began. PM Khan will meet President Vladimir Putin today indicating the growing ties between the former Cold War rivals. PM Khan is the first Pakistani leader to visit the country in 23 years in official capacity.

On his two-day Russia visit, PM Khan is accompanied by a high-level delegation of senior members of his Cabinet. These include Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, Commerce Advisor Abdul Razak Dawood and National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf.

"During the Summit meeting, the two leaders will review the entire array of bilateral relations including energy cooperation. They will also have a wide-ranging exchange of views on major regional and international issues, including Islamophobia and the situation in Afghanistan," the Foreign Office said.

While PM Khan has said that the meeting is only about bilateral relations between Pakistan and Russia, it has been seen as an implicit approval of President Putin’s actions in Ukraine.

“This (Ukraine crisis) does not concern us. We have a bilateral relationship with Russia, and we really want to strengthen it,” PM Khan said in an interview to the Russia-controlled RT channel.

"I am not a believer in military conflicts. I believe civilised societies resolve the difference through dialogues and countries that rely on military conflicts have not studied history properly," he added.

Minister of Information Fawad Chaudhry added during a media briefing that PM Khan had made it clear that Pakistan does not want to be a part of any bloc.

The meeting has already drawn criticism from the US, which has asked nations to maintain diplomatic pressure on Russia over its action in Ukraine. "We've communicated to Pakistan our position regarding Russia's further renewed invasion of Ukraine and we have briefed them on our efforts to pursue diplomacy over war," said the US State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

He added that every “responsible” country should be voicing objections to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

PM Khan’s visit highlights the shifting global ties and alliances. A staunch ally of the US, Pakistan used to be a strong opponent of the USSR in the sub-continent, which pushed India and the USSR relations closer. But with Pakistan’s relations with the US souring over its collaboration with China and Islamist extremist organisations, India came closer to the US to counter the Chinese threat. Now Pakistan is steadily improving its relations with Russia, while Russia and China are improving their own bilateral ties.

Pakistan and Russia have engaged in joint military exercises starting from 2016, in the immediate aftermath of the Uri attacks, despite protests from New Delhi. Pakistan has even emerged as a centre of arms exports for Russia, which lifted its four-decade arms embargo on the country in 2011 selling it MiG helicopters. When India-Pakistan relations were at decades low in 2017, Russia continued to sell more helicopters to Pakistan. The two countries are also part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Meanwhile, India is closely monitoring the meet.

“All is true — Russia is dealing with Pakistan, Iran is dealing with China, Iran is dealing with Russia, there was a China-Russia Summit, all completely true… What does it take to put a Quad-like body together? It takes a lot of comfort, it takes a lot of systemic interaction, it takes strong leadership commitment. It’s all when all those things are there that the geometry actually begins to form,” said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday.

“Aggregating interactions does not automatically lead to a geometry. It takes something more,” he added.

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(Edited by : Thomas Abraham)

First Published:Feb 24, 2022 12:41 PM IST