Daily Times

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has invited his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to visit Moscow at a time when Islamabad is trying to maintain a fine balance in its ties between the west and Russia. The invitation was extended by Lavrov during his brief informal interaction with Bilawal during the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tashkent on Friday, a private TV channel claimed. There was a bilateral meeting scheduled between the two foreign ministers but the late arrival of Lavrov to Tashkent led to the cancellation of the meeting, reports said, dismissing the impression that there was any tension between Pakistan and Russia or Lavrov refused to meet Bilawal. Bilawal met foreign ministers of all member states of SCO at the sidelines except Russia and India. A meeting with Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishanker was not on the cards but no bilateral meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had raised eyebrows as meetings between Pakistan and Russian diplomats at the sidelines of such regional forums were routine. But the foreign office sources played down the development. They referred to the engagement of Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker who even because of scheduling issues could not hold a bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart though he met other leaders at the margins of the conference. “Therefore, we should not read too much into it,” stressed a senior foreign office official while requesting anonymity.