ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan says Islamabad is hopeful ofincreasing military ties with Moscow ahead of his meeting with RussianPresident Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek.
The premier, who arrived in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek on Thursday, willrepresent Pakistan in the 19th meeting of the council of the heads ofstates of the SCO.
“We have developed cooperation with Russia between our defense forces … andhope to deepen our contacts,” the PM said while speaking to a Russianpublication.
“Most of the 50s, 60s, 70s were spent in the Cold War region, where Indiawas close to the Soviet Union, and Pakistan was close to the United States.
We were in different camps. Now things have changed … It is refreshing thatwe have developed our contacts with Russia, and they are developing all thetime,” he said.
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To a question on whether Islamabad intends to purchase weapons from Moscow,the premier said the Pakistani and Russian militaries were alreadycoordinating on the matter.
“First, we hope that our tension with India decreases, so we do not have tobuy arms because we want to spend money on human development. But, yes, weare looking for arms from Russia, and I know our military is already intouch with the Russian military,” said the PM.
