ISLAMABAD (AP) – Russia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that Moscow and Islamabad would strengthen ties in the fight against terrorism, with Russia providing unspecified military equipment to Pakistan and holding the two joint exercises at sea and in the mountains.
Sergey Lavrov spoke on the second day of a two-day trip to Pakistan. This is the first visit by a Russian foreign minister in nine years, part of the warming of icy relations. This comes as Moscow wants to increase its stature in the region, especially in Afghanistan, where it wants to exert itself as a key player in efforts to find a peaceful end to decades of war.
“We are ready to strengthen Pakistan’s anti-terrorist potential, including by providing special military equipment to Pakistan,” Lavrov said without going into detail about the equipment.
Washington is reviewing an agreement it signed with the Taliban more than a year ago, commemorating a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan on May 1. Meanwhile, Moscow has intensified its involvement there and last month hosted talks between the Taliban and senior Afghan government officials. Lavrov suggested that another high-level meeting be held in Moscow again.
Lavrov arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday from neighboring India, with whom Moscow had a long and steady relationship. However, the apparent recovery in Pakistan-Russia relations is a more recent phenomenon.
Pakistan was a theatrical arena for anti-communist Afghan rebels in the 1980s, aided by the US to oust the Soviet Union, which ended its ten-year occupation of Afghanistan in 1989.
In a statement issued by the Pakistani military after Lavrov’s talks with Pakistani army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, is said to be discussing “enhanced defense and security cooperation, regional security, especially the Afghan peace process.”
Bajwa also reportedly told Lavrov that Pakistan wanted regional cooperation, although he did not mention Pakistan’s awkward relationship with neighboring India. Earlier this year, nuclear-armed neighbors renewed their commitment to a ceasefire along their troubled border, separating the disputed Kashmir region.
Meanwhile, Russia is also building a gas pipeline between the southern port city of Karachi and eastern Lahore. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Islamabad would also buy 5 million doses of the Russian-made COVID-19 Sputnik V vaccine, and expressed a desire to eventually manufacture it in Pakistan. He said Pakistan also wanted Russian expertise to modernize its outdated railway system as well as its energy sector.
Lavrov also held meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The visit highlights the declining influence of the United States in the region, while Russian and Chinese influence is growing, says Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia program in downtown Wilson.
“There is a good reason why it is the first Russian foreign minister in almost a decade in Islamabad: relations between Russia and Pakistan are increasing,” he said in an interview. He also noted a new 25-year development agreement between Iran and China.
Pakistan is also a key player in China’s Belt and Road Initiative – a massive, continental infrastructure development project aimed at expanding China’s commercial connections worldwide.
“America will soon cede important real estate to its leading competitors,” Kugelman said. ‘This is the cost of an imminent withdrawal of the US from the region. But with the U.S. intent to withdraw, it appears to be a cost he is willing to bear. ”