Pakistan-Russia ties can bring stability in Pakistan: Russian media
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Cooperation between Russia and Iran “is capable of bringing peace and ensuring order” in Pakistan, said a Moscow-based columnist in a Russian online newspaper.
"To a large extent the future of Syria, Iraq and the Middle East depends on Moscow and Tehran and whether their activities are coordinated," columnist Petr Akopov wrote in Vzglyad.
"Our cooperation is capable of bringing peace and ensuring order in a vast area, stretching from the Mediterranean to Pakistan."
During the Cold War, Pakistan spent a decade helping the United States funnel arms and fighters into neighbouring Afghanistan to help insurgent groups fight Soviet soldiers following their 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.
At the time, the communist Soviet Union was closely aligned with Pakistan's arch-enemy India, while the United States was a staunch supporter of Islamabad.
But relations have eased between the former Cold War-era rivals and the armies of the two countries held their first ever military exercise last year. Islamabad also bought four Mi-35 attack helicopters from Moscow in a first military deal of its kind between them.
While ties between Pakistan and Russia are growing closer, Islamabad’s relations with the United States have cooled. Washington has also improved ties with India, which Pakistan views warily.
