New Delhi: Amidst the announcement of military operations in Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday landed in Moscow for a two-day perfectly ill-timed visit.
According to Pakistan’s Geo TV, Pak premier aims to push for the construction of a long-delayed, multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline to be built in collaboration with Russian companies.
On his maiden visit to Russia, first by any Pak Prime Minister in 23 years, PM Imran Khan was received at the airport by Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov. The premier and his delegation will undergo a coronavirus test, while he will commence his activities on Thursday morning, Geo TV said.
Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI inspecting the guard of honour at Moscow Airport. https://t.co/zcDXEtwLVu pic.twitter.com/1XtHBZRkTS
— Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) February 23, 2022
His visit to Moscow comes at a time as Russia faces sanctions for its actions in Ukraine and tensions in the simmering Russia-Ukraine crisis have reached unprecedented levels.
According to the official itinerary of PM Khan’s visit in Pak media, he will meet Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Valentinovich Novak, interact with Pakistani media and pay a visit to Islamic Centre as well as meet businessmen. A possible meeting with President Putin is also on the cards.
PM Imran Khan’s visit to Moscow, say Indian strategic affairs experts, indicate growing ties being shaped between the two countries at the behest of China. Over the past few years as India-US embrace of strategic ties grew stronger, Moscow and Islamabad have also inched close to each other. It is also time for India to take a position on Ukraine as Moscow opens doors to Islamabad, analysts say.
#UkraineRussiaCrisis Clearly as Moscow embraces Pakistan, @narendramodi @DrSJaishankar this can be our window to demonstrate that we stand with Ukraine and speak out when a sovereign territory is invaded. We can play the role of a global leader by standing firm on this. https://t.co/SOqYxbyWr2
— Saurabh Shukla सौरभ शुक्ल (@isaurabhshukla) February 24, 2022
Analysts also pointed out that an invitation was sought by Islamabad from Moscow for the prime ministerial visit. There was no invitation from the Russian side.
In his comment on Russia-Pak ties, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, during his three-day visit to France, said at the French Institute of International Relations that “four corners do not necessarily make a geometry”.
On the Russia-China-Pak axis, Dr Jaishankar observed: “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.”
“Aggregating interactions does not automatically lead to a geometry. It takes something more,” he said.
Defence and security analysts in New Delhi said Imran Khan’s visit to Moscow was under discussion for the past two years but was getting put off due to several reasons, including Russia’s desire not to antagonise India. Over the past five years, the two countries have also been conducting military exercises. Last year Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Islamabad after a gap of almost nine years.
Dr Swasti Rao, Associate Fellow at Manohar Parrikar-IDSA, noted that Russia-Pak relations are growing and in 2014 Russia had lifted its embargo on Pakistan and began sale of arms to Islamabad. Russia also wants to keep tabs on the situation in Afghanistan through Pakistan.