Roving Periscope: Amid Pakistan-Roosi Dosti Zindabad, Islamabad gets discounted oil from Moscow
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: In a post-ideology emerging New World Order, and realignment of ‘frenemies’ as all nations keeping their eggs in all baskets, Pakistan has started getting discounted Russian oil despite Islamabad supplying arms to Ukraine, via Poland and Germany!
Moscow is keen to expand and deepen bilateral ties with Pakistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a video message on Sunday as the first shipment carrying discounted Russian oil reached Karachi Port at the weekend.
He concluded the video message by raising the slogan “Pakistan-Roosi Dosti Zindabad.”
His remarks came just a week ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first State Visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden, from June 21 to 24, amid Washington’s unofficial attempts to persuade New Delhi to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as a Plus Member alongside Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Israel.
Modi is the first Indian PM to address a joint session of the US Congress twice. President Biden, spreading a red carpet to receive him, will also host PM Modi at a State Dinner on June 22.
Lavrov’s remarks came on the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Islamabad, the media reported.
He said Russia views Pakistan as a “key international partner in the joint efforts to combat common security challenges and threats, including transborder crime and terrorism.”
Almost bankrupt, Pakistan on Monday began transporting the much-anticipated discounted Russian crude oil to a Karachi refinery, a development that is likely to provide relief to the people hit by skyrocketing inflation. The first shipment of discounted Russian crude oil arrived in Karachi on Sunday after an agreement was inked between Islamabad and Moscow in April.
“We know about the great interest and respect that the Pakistani people have towards Russia and President Vladimir Putin. We appreciate it very much,” the Russian Foreign Minister said.
Interestingly, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power in April 2022, soon after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin to resume ties and oil imports. His successor, Shehbaz Sharif is following the same policy while tightening the noose against Khan.
For the records, however, Lavrov reminded Islamabad about the different periods in bilateral relations with Pakistan. However, he added, Russia had always been interested in expanding cooperation with Pakistan and “under no circumstances has abandoned its commitments.”
“The participation of Soviet specialists in the construction of the largest steel mill in Karachi (now called Pakistan Steel Mills) in the 1980s, despite the conflict raging in Afghanistan at the time, is clear evidence of this. The Guddu Thermal Power Plant, the largest in your country, was also commissioned then.”
“Nowadays, our relations are advanced and based on trust. They are founded on the concurrence or proximity of approaches to the key issues of the international agenda. Together with our Pakistani partners, we stand for shaping a more just and democratic multipolar world order,” he added.
“We respect peoples’ cultural and civilizational diversity and their right to determine the avenues of their political, social, and economic development. I would like to note that Russia’s vision of the world order and our understanding of traditional moral values are in harmony with the principles of faith, unity, and discipline formulated by the Father of the Pakistani People, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. It is on these pillars that the statehood of modern Pakistan is based,” Lavrov said.
He said that Russia attached great importance to further constructive cooperation with Pakistan in international fora.
“We highly appreciate Pakistan’s contribution to the activities of the United Nations and its specialized agencies. We welcome Islamabad’s active involvement in joint work within the SCO as a full member of this organization, which plays an important role in establishing multilateral cooperation in Greater Eurasia.”
“It is encouraging that over the recent years, we have succeeded in making significant progress in bilateral trade. Russia has become a major supplier of wheat to Pakistan, with shipments exceeding one million tonnes last year. Negotiations on launching a cooperation project in the oil sector are at their final stage.”
He said that Russia was willing to work together on further engagement with Pakistan and its people, strengthening mutually beneficial relations in politics, security, economy, education, cultural and humanitarian fields, as well as in other areas.
Pakistan and Russia have remained bitter Cold War rivals, but their bilateral ties have taken a positive turn in recent years, with both sides willing to bury the past and adjust to the new realities. The two countries have tried translating their years of quiet diplomacy into tangible outcomes.
Now, the first shipment of oil is part of the pilot project to assess if Russian oil can be beneficial for Pakistan, which is currently grappling with high external debt and a weak local currency and hoping that snapping crude at discounted rates from Moscow would stabilize oil prices in the country.
Energy accounts for the biggest share of Pakistan’s imports, and cheaper oil from Russia will help Pakistan in containing the ballooning trade deficit and balance-of-payments crisis.
Surpassing Sri Lanka’s a year ago, Pakistan’s inflation rate accelerated to 38 percent in May from the record high of 36.4 percent in April, according to the central bank data.
