Top Russian diplomat confident in progress of negotiations on Pakistan gas pipeline

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia’s top diplomat said on Monday that Moscow is confident in the progress of negotiations concerning the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline.

"The issue is already at an advanced stage of elaboration. I am sure that further progress will be recorded in the very near future," Sergey Lavrov said in a news conference in the Russian capital with his visiting Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Lavrov said the pipeline project was already discussed in a meeting of the intergovernmental commission on bilateral trade and economic cooperation held this month in Islamabad.

Pakistan and Russia signed two agreements in 2015 and 2021 for the construction of the $2.5 billion Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline, which was slated to begin last year, but it could not be started due to global sanctions on Moscow.

Lavrov noted that the foreign ministers also agreed to continue pragmatic cooperation in fighting terrorism, saying efforts are underway in this regard both in the bilateral and multilateral format.

Regarding military cooperation, Lavrov voiced Moscow’s satisfaction with the current level of military-technical cooperation with Islamabad.

"We maintain regular contacts between the heads of defense departments and chiefs of general staff. Joint combat training activities are being carried out, including those dedicated to increasing anti-terrorist potential. Training of Pakistani military personnel in educational institutions of the Russian Defense Ministry continues," he said.

He also noted that the number of members to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an eight-member regional organization in Eurasia, will grow with Iran and Belarus' accession processes, adding that a number of countries have dialogue partner status to the organization, including many Arab states.

For his part, Zardari said they discussed bilateral, regional, and international issues.

"Pakistan-Russia relations have come a long way during the last two decades. (I) reiterated (our) commitment to an upward trajectory, especially in the fields of economy, trade, and energy. Emphasized dialogue and diplomacy as the path to peace," Zardari said on Facebook.