Right decision to go ahead with Russia trip, says FM Qureshi

Right decision to go ahead with Russia trip, says FM Qureshi​

Dawn.com Published February 25, 2022 - Updated 11 minutes ago

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi gestures while addressing the members of the media in Islamabad on February 25. — AFP

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi asserted on Friday that the government's decision to go ahead with the recently concluded Moscow visit was correct, explaining that there had been a shift in the country's foreign policy towards geoeconomics, which warranted progress on regional connectivity.

"If we have to move towards geoeconomics, a natural conclusion for this [to happen] is to make progress on [developing] regional connectivity [with] Afghanistan and beyond Afghanistan into Central Asian republics. And if we have to move towards regional connectivity, then Russia has an historical role ... in this region," he said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

"Russia being onboard will fortify our [shift in] focus towards geoeconomic regional connectivity."
The foreign minister said this and several other factors were considered before it was decided to go ahead with the Moscow visit.
"We went ahead and I am convinced after this visit that we did the right thing in going ahead," he added.

The visit coincided with escalating tensions between Russia and the West as the former launched an operation in neighbouring Ukraine.
The timing of the visit has been questioned but top Pakistani government officials termed it one of the rarest opportunities for the energy-starved country to make headway in energy and regional connectivity.
Addressing the matter, Qureshi told media persons the before Prime Minister Imran Khan left for Moscow along with a delegation of ministers, he had presided over a meeting to analyse the evolving conflict.
He said the current foreign secretary and four former foreign secretaries, former ambassadors, including those who served in Moscow, and other senior officials were present at the meeting.

"We consulted [them], we weighed pros and cons and then decided the way forward accordingly," the foreign minister said, dispelling the impression that the decision to visit Moscow was not well thought out.
He emphasised the importance of "collective wisdom" in this regard, saying that he had been inviting former ambassadors and foreign secretaries for consultation and advice after assuming the role of foreign minister.
"Institutional memory is of good use and we should benefit from experience," he said. "Using this collective wisdom, we concluded that the solid rationale for consolidation of our bilateral relations with Russia should not be lost sight of. In light of this, we decided to keep our plan for the visit unchanged."

The foreign minister further said the objective of the visit was to "maximise the diplomatic space for Pakistan".
He described the visit as "satisfactory" and said, "I believe we made the right decision. Our diplomatic space has increased."
Moreover, Qureshi said, the government saw the visit as an opportunity to take Russia into confidence on the issue of Afghanistan and the evolving situation in South Asia, particularly with regards to Indian-occupied Kashmir.
"We saw [...] it as an important opportunity that should not be squandered."

In apparent criticism of rival opposition parties, he said he saw some tweets during the visit by individuals who were "panicking".
Refusing to name anyone, he said their tweets expressed worry. "But my prime minister, on the other hand, did not seem perturbed and was confident."

Qureshi said one of the reasons behind this could be that PM Imran did not have accounts or assets in any Western capital.

'US contacted Pakistan before Moscow visit'​

He revealed that the US administration had made a "high-level" contact with Pakistan before the Moscow visit.
Using a catchword used by anchorperson Waseem Badami, Qureshi added: "They (the US) asked us a masoomana (innocent) question and we gave them a respectful reply."
When asked to elaborate further, he said the US conveyed its perspective and Pakistan communicated its point view, as well as the objective and background of the visit.
"And as I said, [the plan for the visit] remained unchanged."

'Will not be part of any camp'​

Qureshi referred to a statement by PM Imran, wherein the premier said Pakistan did not want to be in a position that implied that it was part of a certain camp.
"In view of past experiences, we have made this big decision not to be part of any camp politics," the foreign minister reiterated.
"We will move forward with what is in the interest of Pakistan. Period. This is our focus, this is our priority, and we are moving forward in line with this [philosophy]," he said, adding that today, Pakistan was broadly engaged and had good relations with all major powers of the world.

In response to a question whether PM Imran's visit to Moscow did not give the impression that Pakistan was backing Russia in the ongoing conflict, Qureshi said it depended on how one viewed things.
"We are not part of any camp politics and we don't intend to be," he added.

The foreign minster said Pakistan had paid a huge price for being part of camp politics, adding that it would "maintain ties with all". In this connection, he gave the example of Germany, where he said he would visit soon.
Today, Qureshi said, Pakistan was presenting its stance before the world in a self-respecting manner.
"There is newness in our foreign policy and Pakistan is moving towards a self-respecting and independent foreign policy," he said. "We have shifted our focus from geopolitics to geoeconomics in light of past experiences."

Stance on Ukraine situation​

To a question about whether PM Imran had made any offer to Russian President Vladimir Putin to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, the foreign minister said both leaders presented their stance on the matter in the meeting.
But, he said, the visit was not planned keeping in view the situation in Ukarine.
"It was being planned for a long time," Qureshi said, outlining multiple occasions of bilateral engagement with Russia. "This bilateral visit was planned in that context," he added.

However, he said, since a situation had arisen, "we presented our stance on the matter and heard theirs."
The foreign minister said PM Imran had spoken about the issue at an "appropriate time and place", stressing that it should be resolved through diplomacy.

"Because when a country or region engages in a military conflict, it results in a loss for all, especially developing countries," Qureshi said, adding that the results of the Russia-Ukraine conflict were already appearing in the shape of rising oil prices.
He called for exercising restraint and said there was still a possibility of resolving the issue through diplomatic efforts.
In response to a question, he said Pakistan had diplomatic ties with Ukraine and "we give importance to them."
Moreover, he said, "Our military ties with Russia are improving."

Assistance to citizens in Ukraine​

The foreign minister assured that authorities in Pakistan were in touch with Pakistan's embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
He said he had a detailed phone conversationwith Pakistan's ambassador to Ukraine before the press conference.
The minister said clear directives were also issued to Pakistan's embassy in Kyiv for ensuring the safety of the country's diaspora in Ukraine before the Moscow visit.

Moreover, he said, there were around 3,000 Pakistani students in Ukraine and the embassy had been contacted to ensure that they were moved to safe areas and eventually sent back home.
"We are in constant touch with them," he said, adding that in order to facilitate the student's evacuation, Pakistan's embassy had been shifted from Kyiv to Ternopil.

He dismissed reports that a Pakistani student had been killed in Ukraine.
"I spoke to the ambassador and he told me that all our children are safe so far," the minister said, expressing the hope that their evacuation would be completed soon. "Their anxiety is understandable and we will provide them all the help they need."

Recap of the visit​

Qureshi began his speech with a round up of the visit, saying that the meeting between PM Imran and President Putin lasted for around three-and-a-half hours.

He said both leaders exchanged views on the improvement in and positive trajectory of ties between Pakistan and Russia over the past few years. Moreover, he said, regional matters, especially the situation in Afghanistan and the security and stability of South Asia, were discussed.

"PM Imran took him (Putin) into confidence over occupied Kashmir and shared Pakistan's stance on the matter," he added.

He said energy cooperation was also discussed in the meeting, with particular focus on Pakistan Stream gas pipeline, as well as the rising trend of Islamophobia.
When asked about the progress on the building of Pakistan Stream gas pipeline, which is being constructed in collaboration with Russia, Qureshi said there was agreement on most matters and there would be discussion on remaining issues next month.
"We hope that it will be completed soon," he added.

Qureshi further told media persons that Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov called on PM Imran and discussed bilateral trade and investment opportunities.
Energy cooperation was also discussed with them, he said, adding that Pakistan had expressed interest in purchasing gas from Russia through a long-term government-to-government arrangement.

He said it was proposed that the gas pipeline between Russia and Uzbekistan be extended to Pakistan via Afghanistan.
The minister added that Russia had also expressed interest on the establishment of a liquified natural gas terminal in Gwadar.
He said PM Imran and other ministers had also addressed a forum of Russian and Pakistani businessmen and discussed opportunities for cooperative arrangement in the future.

"We also discussed ways to remove procedural bottlenecks in trade and economic linkages," added.
The foreign minister termed the discussion productive, adding that several businessmen had indicated interest in participating in a investment conference that would be organised in Islamabad in March.

PM Imran also visited Moscow's central mosque and met its grand mufti during the visit, he said.
The minister then shared some of the salient features from a statement issued by the Foreign Office after the visit.
When asked about opposition parties approaching Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's allies, he said they may hold as many meetings as they want. "It does not affect us."
The foreign minister announce that he would visit Ghotki tomorrow where he would respond to the opposition.

 

[TheSolution]

A "diplomatic meet" as you would have it would would have happened on any other day of the year, not on the day of the actual invasion. As for ISI, they definitely have some cards left to play.

Points more towards Russian planning here, not Pakistan's. It would probably be better if we had this meet before the invasion.

 

[Aspen]

Points more towards Russian planning here, not Pakistan's. It would probably be better if we had this meet before the invasion.

There is no doubt Russia planned it. However, Pakistan also had to call the right shots by actually going. It is easy to assume this now after the fact as a given but a few days ago, this was not as obvious and a lot of people thought he would cancel or at least delay it under pressure which to his credit he didn't even delay it which was a surprise to many. Some would call me a conspiracist but I think he had received a good reason from the Kremlin not to delay it which turned out to be right. Putin gave IK the hint and he took it. Pakistani intelligence benefitted significantly by going through with it as it was an unprecedented opportunity which will never happen again. I cannot say for sure how much Pakistan actually knew before going but I think they must have known that an invasion during that timeframe was at least possible. It is definitely possible that he knows something we don't. A lot of people were caught off guard by the fact that the invasion and meeting with IK were literally hours apart. IK landed in Moscow, few hours later Russia invaded Ukraine, then Putin held meeting with IK. I think people expected the timing to be close but I don't think anyone expected IK to actually be inside the Kremlin during the opening hours of the invasion. The timing of this visit will certainly be a subject of great interest for some time to come.

 

[khansaheeb]

Points more towards Russian planning here, not Pakistan's. It would probably be better if we had this meet before the invasion.

I am sure Putin and his staff would have been busy with the war and not focused on the meetings with IK and his entourage. But as IK said this thaw in relations for economic cooperation was too good to miss.

 

[Aspen]

I am sure Putin and his staff would have been busy with the war and not focused on the meetings with IK and his entourage. But as IK said this thaw in relations for economic cooperation was too good to miss.

I mean look at it from the other side, can you imagine IK hosting Putin during the opening hours of Swift Retort? A military operation like that requires full concentration. Considering the scale of the military operation, the fact that IK was there at all is interesting to say the least. Usually, you would not want to host any foreign leader during the opening of a wartime invasion but that appears not to be the case here. Putin definitely knew it would line up well in advance and I cannot imagine he would have done it without a good reason which raises some interesting questions.

 

[Turingsage]

Russia​

By Dr Farrukh Saleem
February 27, 2022

Russia produces a mere 3 percent of the global GDP. The US economy is 12 times bigger than Russia’s. Even the Indian economy is almost double that of Russia’s. The US, China, Japan, Germany, India, the UK, France, Brazil, Italy and Canada all produce bigger GDPs than Russia. Russia’s share in global exports stands at a paltry 2.5 percent. As far as the global economy is concerned, Russia is not a very important player.
Russia spends $62 billion a year on defence which is around 3 percent of global spending on defence. The US spends $778 billion a year on defence nearly 13 times more than Russia (US expenditure on defense amounts to 39 percent of the global total). The US, China and India all spend more on defense than does Russia. As far as the global expenditure on defence is concerned, Russia is only a minor player.
As far as Pakistan is concerned, less than one percent of our exports go to Russia. Pakistan’s exports to Russia include citrus ($60 million), non-knit men’s suits ($20 million) and leather apparel ($17 million). As far as imports into Pakistan are concerned, 0.9 percent of our imports come from Russia – cereals $287 million, vegetables $138 million and rubbers $29 million. Russia has little or no role for Pakistan's economy.
As far as the IMF is concerned, Pakistan is into its 23rd programme. This year, Pakistan’s trade deficit is being projected to be $40 billion-and without the IMF this trade deficit is not sustainable. This year, Pakistan’s gross external financing need stands at around $30 billion. To be certain, without the IMF our external financing need cannot be met. At the IMF, Russia has 2.59 percent of the total votes. On the other side of the equation, the US, Japan, Germany, France, the UK and Italy control more than 40 percent of the voting power. Obviously, Russia cannot help us at the IMF.
Yes, Russia is one of the 37 full members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) but Russia is not a member jurisdiction of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG). Clearly, Russia cannot be of any help at the APG.
Pakistan’s external debt now stands at $130 billion, 8 percent of which is held by the Paris Club of which Russia is one of the 22 members. As of 30th of June 2021, public and publicly guaranteed debt outstanding to Russia stood at $68 million or a mere 0.05 percent of our total debt.
Yes, Russia exports $123 billion worth of crude petroleum, $17 billion worth of coal briquettes and $8 billion worth of wheat. The most common Russian export destinations are China ($58 billion), Netherlands ($42 billion), Belarus ($20 billion), Germany ($19 billion) and Italy ($17 billion). Countries in Western Europe import 25 percent of their oil and 40 percent of their gas from Russia. Yes, Russia has a political lever over countries of Western Europe.
From Russia with love. Our foreign policy is emotion-driven. Our foreign policy is hope-driven. Yes, Pakistan would have to pay a heavy cost for an emotion-driven foreign policy. We must have a national interest-driven foreign policy. We must have a data-driven foreign policy. Hope is neither a policy nor a plan.

Russia

Russia produces a mere 3 percent of the global GDP. The US economy is 12 times bigger than Russia’s. Even the Indian economy is almost double that of Russia’s. The US, China, Japan,...

www.thenews.com.pk

 

[khansaheeb]

I mean look at it from the other side, can you imagine IK hosting Putin during the opening hours of Swift Retort? A military operation like that requires full concentration. Considering the scale of the military operation, the fact that IK was there at all is interesting to say the least. Usually, you would not want to host any foreign leader during the opening of a wartime invasion but that appears not to be the case here. Putin definitely knew it would line up well in advance and I cannot imagine he would have done it without a good reason which raises some interesting questions.

It was a warning to India by Putin , either you are with us or we are with Pakistan.

 

[TheSolution]

It was a warning to India by Putin , either you are with us or we are with Pakistan.

Exactly bro

But he wants to believe this was some 1000 IQ ISI conspiracy lmao...

(ISI has a lot to improve on, R&AW is better if we are being honest.)

Russia decided the date and gave the invitation, and knew when the invasion would happen, we just accepted likely not being aware. Ideally you'd want to stay away when the whole world is condemning Russia for invading Ukraine, because you wouldn't want to negatively impact your international reputation.

Thankfully it seems things are not too bad though. It was pre-scheduled, we seek peaceful solutions to any conflicts and this was simply an economic cooperation meeting.

 

[Wesen Hunter]

View attachment 818880

Conclusion: Russian Ambassador in India while answering to Indian media, says that Kashmir is a disputed territory. Russia stands with the statement.

Hi, Do you have any non Pakistani source on this?

I watched all press conferences and speeches conducted this month by Russian envoy, press secretary of embassy and could not find any mention of Kashmir in any of them.

Except for Pakistani Dunya news no body is reporting it. They too are not playing the clip of his speech in their reporting.
Even the pic they have attached is from a old event in 2019 where Russian envoy/D. Amb was speaking in memory of deceased Indian minister Arun Jaitley.

© Wesen Hunter

 

[FuturePAF]

My naive views:

• Pak very much has decided her future course of actions, which requires a close association with the Sino-Russo axis
• Without Russia no connectivity to the Central Asia
• Without Russia no gas from the Central Asia
• Russian cooperation is required to make Afghanistan viable and feasible
• Etc.

Russians also have some influence over the Iranians, which could be leveraged to help secure that border between Pakistan and Iran (which was why some Americans were reluctant for so long to push to hard on the Russians before the Russians invaded Ukraine)

 

[TheSolution]

Russians also have some influence over the Iranians, which could be leveraged to help secure that border between Pakistan and Iran (which was why some Americans were reluctant for so long to push to hard on the Russians before the Russians invaded Ukraine)

Doesn't China also have influence? They are investing billions and have signed coopetation deals

 

[FuturePAF]

Doesn't China also have influence? They are investing billions and have signed cooperation deals

Russia has come to the aid of the Iranian ally; Syria, and saved the regime from being overrun in the past decade. Russia is willing to sell the Iranians more advanced weapons then anyone else. It’s true that China will have more influence going forward, but Russia is also an Iranian neighbor, and that has led to some influence as well, as Iran has tried to evade the worst of the sanctions.

 

[Turingsage]

It was a warning to India by Putin , either you are with us or we are with Pakistan.

It was a photo opportunity set up by Putin well in advance.
He wanted a "democratic leader" with a whole gaggle of ministers and journalists standing next to him while hundreds of tanks and planes invaded Ukraine.

He KNEW there is only one leader in the democratic world that WOULD NEVER cancel such a meeting as he is utterly inconsequential and needs the photo op more than he does.

 

[khansaheeb]

It was a photo opportunity set up by Putin well in advance.
He wanted a "democratic leader" with a whole gaggle of ministers and journalists standing next to him while hundreds of tanks and planes invaded Ukraine.

He KNEW there is only one leader in the democratic world that WOULD NEVER cancel such a meeting as he is utterly inconsequential and needs the photo op more than he does.

I doubt any country with nuclear weapons and a population of 200 million that can defeat a nation of 1 billion population is inconsequential.

 

[Patriot forever]

Moscow will remember this for a long time and the ice in our relations have completely melted after the visit. Had PM IK bucked under the pressure kremlin would have remembered that for a long time as well. They would have taken it as an insult.
Russia has a different psychology than US.

As for the US they never had anything positive for Pakistan. As soon as they need Pakistan they will come and buy us for cheap, when they don't need us Pakistan is a state that should be made docile and toothless is their objective. They always keep a small window open if and when they need us, nothing drastic will happen from their end.

Its better we stop apologizing to ourselves ( avoid the libtards and sponsored snakes) and if we are to walk a tight rope and not join camps walk like a man not like a sissy.

Let's make good of the visit and follow on with our central Asian aswell as Afghanistan policy.

 

[HttpError]

We are not camp followers just as China and Russia and US are not camp followers.

You are camp leaders, we know that.