Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers Council meeting.
"This is a great opportunity to check notes. I would like to reiterate my gratitude for the hospitality extended to my delegation when I visited Islamabad this year. Then we were able to have a very good analysis of our bilateral relations and on international platforms. Today is one example of our cooperation in international organizations. But I would like to discuss how the issues we previously discussed in Islamabad develop," the Russian minister said when opening the meeting.
The Russian Foreign Minister paid a working visit to Islamabad on April 6-7. Following the talks, the Russian side reaffirmed its willingness to strengthen Pakistan's anti-terrorist potential, including through the supply of military equipment. The ministers also agreed to promote the formation of inclusive power structures in Afghanistan. In addition, they discussed prospects for cooperation on vaccines with Pakistan, where the use of the Russian drug against coronavirus Sputnik V was approved by the authorities.
The situation in Afghanistan
Lavrov and Qureshi also discussed developments in Afghanistan.
"During the conversation, they discussed topical issues of the regional and international agenda with a focus on the situation in Afghanistan. Both sides stressed the need to further build up multifaceted bilateral cooperation, including in counterterrorism and trade and economic areas," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
After US President Joe Biden announced the end of the US military operation in Afghanistan and plans to withdraw the troops, the situation in the country sharply deteriorated. On July 13, the Pentagon reported that more than 95% of the American troops were pulled out of Afghanistan. At the same time, according to their representatives, the Taliban (banned in the Russian Federation) managed to establish control over about 85% of the territory of the country, including the areas along the border with five countries - Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS