Russia has offered Pakistan wheat and gas amidst soaring prices of fuel and commodities, said Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday.
Asif’s remarks came two days after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan.
Russia told Pakistan that it can provide wheat, Asif said at a press conference in Islamabad.
Crops have been destroyed in Pakistan due to the catastrophic floods which inundated a vast swathe of farmland in the country.
“They (Russians) have said that they can give us gas. Russia said that they have gas pipelines in Central Asian countries and the pipelines could be extended to Pakistan via Afghanistan. These talks have taken place,” he said.
Asif said that President Putin also appreciated Pakistan’s position on the Russia-Ukraine war in the United Nations and internationally.
Pakistan’s ties with Russia have moved past the bitter Cold War hostilities in recent years and the chill in the relations between Pakistan and the US has further pushed the country towards Russia and China.
The two countries are not just exploring options to deepen economic ties, but Russia is also keen to sell arms to Pakistan, something it avoided in the past because of India’s opposition.