Pak credibility growing: Russian envoy

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 16

Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev on Monday defended his country’s growing relationship with Pakistan even as he called ties with India “durable and multi-pronged”.

Delivering a special address at the Ananta Aspen Centre in Delhi, Kudashev stressed that the Afghanistan situation couldn’t be addressed without taking onboard every neighbouring country. “This logic also guides us towards further developing relations with Pakistan, which is, on the other hand, Russia’s historic and important regional partner as well. These ties are not emanating from the regional balance of power equations, but growing on their own merits,” said Kudashev.

He claimed that Pakistan’s credibility was growing since its full membership of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and after taking “strong measures to counter financing of terror”.

Interestingly, Kudashev also underlined that Russia does not look at countries through lens of bilateral disputes where it cannot take sides.