Pakistan ‘respects’ Russia’s ties with India – PM Sharif

Islamabad has expressed interest in expanding its relationship with Moscow in multiple areas

Islamabad respects Moscow’s relationship with New Delhi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

In a meeting held after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, Sharif said Pakistan would like to enhance its ties with Russia.

”We respect your relationship with India, that's perfectly fine, but we also want to build strong relations, and these relations will be supplementary and complimentary for the progress and prosperity of the region,” Sharif said.

Putin’s Monday meeting in Tianjin with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, first in his limousine and then at delegation-level talks, received a significant amount of media attention across South Asia.

On Tuesday, Sharif thanked Putin for “supporting Pakistan and trying to have a balancing act in the region.” Sharif expressed Islamabad's interest in expanding its ties with Moscow in multiple areas, such as trade, energy, agriculture, investment, defense, artificial intelligence, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, according to a Radio Pakistan report. 

❗️"We Respect Russia's Relations with India" - Pakistan PM Sharif to Putin https://t.co/9f7JEhjbT1 pic.twitter.com/meqFETLujp

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“Unfortunately, due to a number of objective circumstances, our trade turnover has decreased,” Putin told Sharif. “Literally by an insignificant amount, but nevertheless, this is a good signal for us to analyze the situation and work on it.” 

Putin also extended his condolences to the Pakistani people for the loss of live on account of the floods in the South Asian country. “Regrettably, Pakistan is facing new calamities,” he told Sharif, according to TASS. “We were sitting next to each other at the SCO session and you told me about that. We hope that your country will cope with these difficulties and problems under your leadership.”

Putin and Sharif are among a number of world leaders who are attending commemorations in Beijing, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Asia.

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