ISLAMABAD(PTI): Islamabad has initiated fresh diplomatic contacts with Moscow following the recent visit of Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, to India, the foreign secretary, Shahrayar Khan, said.
“We told them that Pakistan never asked the Russians for military aid. Moscow is cooperating with countries like Venezuella and Djibogu in the field of defense but the altitude towards Pakistan is discriminatory,” Khan said while talking to newsmen in parliament house.
Khan ruled out postponement of premier Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Moscow.
The dates would be finalized next month and the visit was likely to take place in the middle of this year, he added. Khan said that soon after Yeltsin’s visit to New Delhi, Islamabad made certain queries through the diplomatic channel.
Replying to a question about media reports on Yeltsin’s visit, Khan said the Russian position should be seen against the background of the questions asked during the Russian president’s Press conference. “There is no conformity in the actual Russian policy and Yeltsin’s reported position,” he claimed.
According to the foreign secretary, Moscow still considers Kashmir as a dispute between India and Pakistan which should be resolved through peaceful negotiations.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 19, 1993
