Daily Times

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will arrive in Islamabad next week on an official visit to discuss Pakistan-Russia relations as well as economic and counterterrorism cooperation. This was announced by Russian Foreign Ministry in a tweet on Thursday.

Lavrov, who would also visit New Delhi before embarking to Pakistan on a two-day visit from April 6 to 7, will be accompanied by Russian Special Envoy On Afghanistan Zamir Kaboluv.

This is rare that the Russian foreign minister is travelling to New Delhi and Islamabad, something that has raised eyebrows in India. The fact that the Russian top diplomat will be accompanied by Russian special envoy on Afghanistan is a clear indication that Afghanistan would dominate the discussions both in New Delhi and Islamabad.

Other than the Afghan peace efforts, the visit of the Russian foreign minister would also focus on the bilateral ties between the two countries. The relationship between the two countries, which remained bitter cold war rivals, has shown significant improvement in recent years thanks to the new alignments.

Both countries decided to bury the past and open a new chapter in their relationship. Pakistan, which in the past remained in the US camp and was termed the most allied ally of the US, has of late been trying to diversify its foreign policy options. Russia too is willing to reach out to Pakistan after its long term ally India decided to embrace the US.

Some observers believe that given the changing dynamics, Pakistan, Russia, China and Iran could be natural allies. Pakistani officials, however, dismiss block politics. They say Islamabad wants to maintain ties with all countries based on pursuing its interests.