MOSCOW – Pakistan Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan confirmed toSputnik that Pakistan and Russia link> mayreach an agreement on Islamabad purchasing Russian Su-35 jets “in the nextfew years,” the talks on the issue are in their early stages,Khan toldSputnik.
“Concerning fighter aircraft Su-35: may be in the next few years we will beable to reach that point, we are in the beginning of negotiations now,” theminister said answering a corresponding question.
Pakistan was in talks with Moscow on the issue of purchasing air defensesystems, adding that Pakistan was interested in such weapons.
“Air defense system is a different kind of weapon we are interested. We arevery much interested in a very wide range of the Russian weaponstechnology. We are in negotiations [on air defense systems] and once weconclude negotiations, we will be able to announce them,” Khan said in aninterview.
Pakistan is interested in acquiring Russian T-90 tanks as a long-termcommitment instead of a single purchase, Pakistani Defense Minister KhurramDastgir Khan told Sputnik in an interview on Thursday.
“We are interested in tanks T-90 and it is not going to be a one-timepurchase but it is going to be a long-term commitment,” Khan said.
*Situation in Afghanistan*
Both Islamabad and Moscow are interested in a stable and democraticAfghanistan as it will positively contribute to security in Central Asia,the minister said.
“We respect Afghanistan’s sovereignty. Stability in Afghanistan isimportant for Pakistan to be able to develop its own prosperous future, toaccess to the Russian market, for example, by land route. Democratic andstable Afghanistan is in deep the interest of both Russialink> and Pakistan,” Khan said.
Pakistan supports Russia link> ‘sefforts to bring stability and peace to the region and called on otherregional and global powers to jointly devise a plan to end violence anddefeat terrorism in Afghanistan, according to the official.
“We are supporting the Russian regional approach to Afghanistan and we hopethat not only Russia link>but alsoChina, Iran and of course the United States can sit together at the tableand devise a way in which we can achieve internal peace and reconciliationwithin Afghanistan,” he added.
The minister also praised a new approach by the Afghan leadership when itcomes to ending the prolonged conflict in the country.
“One positive step that has happened recently is a genuine approach byPresident [Ashraf] Ghani when he had said that he no longer wants to winthe war, but to end the conflict. To win the war was militarist Americanapproach but now the Afghan approach is closer to Pakistan’s position onthe matter. Pakistan’s highest priority regarding Afghanistan is to have apeaceful democratic stable neighbor,” Khan underlined.
Afghanistan has long been suffering from political, social and securityinstability due to the activity of the Taliban radical movement and theDaesh* terrorist group. To address this issue, Moscow has hosted a numberof conferences to achieve peace in the war-ravaged country.
*Islamabad, Moscow Agreed to Enhance Defense, Intelligence Cooperation*
Islamabad looks forward to expanding defense cooperation with Russialink> in all areas, including militarytraining, procuring equipment and sharing intelligence, Pakistani DefenseMinister Khurram Dastgir Khan told Sputnik in an interview on Thursday.
“In the defense field, we signed a historical unprecedented Pakistan-Russiadefense agreement in 2014. As a result, we have been able to conduct jointexercises, Pakistan has purchased Russian helicopters Mi-35 and now we arelooking at much wider range of defense cooperation. In terms of training,Pakistani officers are coming toRussialink> and Russian officers are going tothe Pakistani facilities for training. We are also now discussing a widerrange of military exercises, we are looking at a wider range of militaryequipment and intelligence sharing,” Khan said on the sidelines of theMoscow Conference on International Security (MCIS).
The official commended the current level of defense industry cooperation,noting that in the future Islamabad hopes to expand the variety of militaryequipment sold by Russia link> toPakistan.
“We are looking towards a great future in certain areas, in whichRussialink> has excellent expertise, such asthe tanks and air defense systems,” Khan noted.
Even though Pakistan and Russia link>haddifferences in the past on the Afghan crisis, the countries have nowachieved mutual understanding on regional and international issues,according to the minister.
“Of course we have a history of Afghan war in which we have been on theopposite sides but now as a second decade of the 21st century ends, we willbe able to look at world realities with a different eye and I am delightedto say that Pakistan and Russia link>arelargely in agreement on major international issues like Afghanistan, likefighting drug trafficking, situation in the Middle East. We are now lookingnow at almost all aspects of defense and there is excellent goodwillbetween our leadership,” Khan underlined.
The official went on to say that Islamabad is grateful to Russialink> for supporting its accession tothe Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
The SCO is a political, economic and military intergovernmentalorganization founded by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russialink>and Tajikistan. Uzbekistan joinedthe SCO in 2001, while India and Pakistan became members in June 2017.