MOSCOW – Pakistan and Russia have reached a military cooperation deal thatincludes sending Pakistani soldiers to Russia for training, the countries’defense ministries have announced.

The agreement was reached during Russian Deputy Defense Minister AleksandrFomin’s two-day visit to Pakistan this week, and was discussed during ameeting of Russia’s and Pakistan’s top military brass in Moscow on August 9.

At the meeting between the chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ GeneralStaff, Army General Valery Gerasimov, and Pakistan’s General Zubair Hayat,the military leaders “confirmed a bid to deepen the dialogue and developcontacts in the defense sector,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The ministry said a key focus of the agreement is for Pakistani servicemento receive training at military schools and institutions of highereducation in Russia.

The agreement comes at a time of tension between Pakistan and itstraditional military ally, the United States, which recently suspendedsecurity aid to Pakistan, charging that it has not done enough to helpdefeat militants that have been waging a long war against the government inneighboring Afghanistan.

It also comes after Washington this year imposed sanctions on Russia’sdefense and intelligence sectors that are aimed at curbing its military’sexports and influence around the world.

*Disinformation Warfare*

While the agreement for both Russia and Pakistan may serve to show they aredistancing themselves from the United States and its demands, Amil Khan, aSouth Asia researcher at Chatham House, a London think-tank, said it is”more about the signaling and political messaging than it is about actualmilitary reality.”

“Pakistani equipment, Pakistani doctrine, and Pakistani resupply, all ofthat stuff is on a Western model,” he said. Because of Islamabad’s pastalliances with the United States and Britain, it cannot easily or quicklyswitch to relying on Russia’s military for its needs, he said.

“The big equipment needs it has [are] all American, with British legacy.So, it’s not actually feasible to take a moment of time and say that rightnow it will be Russia,” Khan said.

Pakistan, besides acquiring military expertise from Russia through thetraining program, may also be seeking to learn more about Russia’sdisinformation warfare tactics, which Khan said have gained attention andrespect in the Middle East and South Asia.

“A lot of countries in the region…are very impressed by the Russianability to wage international competition on a low budget, essentiallyusing disinformation,” he said.

For Russia, the cooperation deal enables it to show that it is stillexpanding its military influence and presence around the world despite theU.S. sanctions, he said.

“The Russian government wants to say to who it sees as its competitors –and first among those is the U.S. — that we are on a level playing fieldwith you on the global stage,” he said.

After losing influence in some parts of the world in recent years, “it isvery important for the Russian system to want to be able to say to its ownpeople: look, we also take back influence where Western powers are steppingaway or are being seen to be less effective.” – Radio Free Europe