April 19, 2021
Special Dispatch No. 9291
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov s Visit To Pakistan Showcases Improved Relations Between The Two Countries
April 19, 2021
On April 6-7, 2021, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Pakistan, is first visit to the country in nine years, and held talks with his counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureishi. The visit appeared to go well and appeared to represent a seismic shift in relations on the Indian subcontinent. Since Soviet times, India has been the country most assiduously courted by Russia. Pakistan was championed by both the United States and China, because of its size, its leadership in the Non-aligned movement, and its espousal of a socialist economy. In the Soviet Union s disastrous war in Afghanistan, Pakistan served as the rear base for the Islamic fighters, who eventually drove the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan.