Russia
signs historic military deal with Pakistan
Russian president Putin seems to have
outsmarted US president Obama in his Asia pivot agenda which essentially means
to corner China by enacting a series of actions with regional powers, and
struck a historic military deal with Pakistan, the arch foe of India being
promoted with military supplies by the Kremlin for decades. Today, India is the
one of the largest purchasers of Russian military terror goods, just behind
China.
Russia seeks more prospective customers for
its arms and nuclear reactors.
According to Russian news agency TASS,
Russia and Pakistan on November 20 signed their very first military
cooperation agreement and laid out future avenues of cooperation,
ending years of division over Islamabad's close military ties with
the unilateral USA and Moscow's with India.
Sergei Shoigu, the first Russian
defense minister to visit Pakistan since 1969, characterized his meeting
with counterpart Khawaja Asif as an important step in strengthening
ties between Moscow and Islamabad. Although the concrete terms
of the agreement are not publicly known, Shoigu said joint naval exercises
will be a key feature of future cooperation with Pakistan, as well as
military officer exchanges, arms sales and counternarcotics
and counterterrorism cooperation. Behind the scenes, Shoigu may have
been negotiating an important sale of Mi-35 transport helicopters
to Pakistan, Yury Barmin, an expert on Russian arms sales, told
The Moscow Times.
During the meeting they agreed that
bilateral military cooperation should take on a more practical orientation
and enhance the combat capability of their armed forces, Shared
security interests are also drawing Pakistan and Russia closer together,
as evidenced by Shoigu's announcement that joint military exercises
and security cooperation will become a routine feature of their
bilateral relationship.
Russia approved the delivery
of 20 Mi-35s to Pakistan in November, but the details still
have to be negotiated. But more important than specific defense contracts
are Russia's growing strategic interests in the region, driven
by security concerns shared with Pakistan — such as instability
in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. troops
and counterterrorism and counternarcotics efforts.
Last year Russia's recorded exports
to Pakistan were much more limited, valued at a mere $22 million,
according to SIPRI. The total sum is somewhat higher than this, as
Russia also sells arms to Pakistan through China.
Russia-India-Pakistan
Both Russia and USA have been strategic
partners of India. Like USA, Russia also thinks in terms of South Asian
regional interests. Pakistan's reconciliation with India after decades
of animosity and periodic conflict has provided a window
of opportunity for Moscow to expand its relationship with
Islamabad.
Nonetheless, Moscow will play it safe
to ensure that its moves do not anger India, Russia's main strategic
partner in the region, said Pyotr Topychkanov, an analyst at the
Carnegie Moscow Center. India last year purchased $3.8 billion worth
of Russian arms — far ahead of the $981 million worth it
purchased from the USA, according to data from the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Moscow says a strong relationship with
India has to remain Russia's focus in the region and so Russian cooperation
with Pakistan should be very specific and limited, while its cooperation
with India should be much more strategic. Topychkanov said the main purpose
of these exercises is to share experience in counterterrorism,
counternarcotics and anti-piracy. This is the usual cover tactics to hide
the secret arms deals.
Russian strategists claim the key
concern driving Moscow to court Islamabad is the alarming flow
of narcotics out of Afghanistan. "Forty percent of Afghan
drugs travel by sea, and a lot of it ends up in Russian
ports.
Also at play is Pakistan
and India's possible ascension next year to the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, an economic and military organization comprising
Russia, China and several other Central Asian states. In the run-up
to the SCO's summit in Ufa in July 2015, Russia will be courting
India and Pakistan and will avoid doing controversial things, such as
active defense cooperation with Islamabad.
Path of cooperation
When Pakistan came into existence in 1947 as an Islamic nation of
Asia, the then Soviet Russia had not shown any real interests in Pakistan.
Gradually, India began courting Russia to develop its economic infrastructure.
Soviet Union began assisting India by making it an ally against US led capitalist
nations, calling India a socialist nation following non-capitalist economic and
social development. India made maximum profits from its relationship with
Russia for years. .
The Soviet Union and Pakistan first established
the diplomatic and bilateral relations on 1 May 1948. For the most of
the Cold War, the Soviet Union relations with Pakistan have seen ups and
downs during the different periods of Pakistan. In 1947-50s, Soviet
Union enjoyed relatively healthy and strong relations with Pakistan when it was
under the civilian control but the relations went ultimately cold soon after
the US-backed 1958 military coup d'état, although attempts to warm the
relations were made after the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war and in the mid
1970s, the relations were quickly improved and warmed.
Benazir Bhutto, the PM of Pakistan initiated steps for making
friendly ties with Russia and in 1990, sent a warm message to Moscow to set up
the economic coordination between two countries. In 1991, Benazir Bhutto
drove the high-level economic delegation to Central Asia and Russia after
the collapse of Soviet Union. Senior military
officials and Defence Attaché of Pakistan and Russia,
jointly working together at the communications tent at the Nigerian Air Force
Base. In 2011, Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and Vladimir Putin held
a frank discussion in a cordial atmosphere on 10th Heads of Government meeting
of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Changing perceptions in Pakistan
Due to rapidly shifting global
geopolitical interests spurred by the end of the Cold War and the ongoing US-led War on Terror, Pakistani public opinion towards Russia has
fluctuated in recent years, with 18% viewing Russia favorably in 2007, falling
to 11% in 2011 and rising to 20% in 2012. According to the BBC World Service Poll, 9% of Pakistanis
view Russian influence positively in 2010, falling to 12% in
2012, and increasing to 18% in 2013.
However, Pakistanis have generally rated Vladimir Putin's leadership poorly, with 7%
expressing confidence in him in 2006, and only 3% in 2012, and for the most
part, a plurality of Russians have
consistently rated Pakistan's influence negatively, with 13% expressing a
positive view in 2008, increasing slightly to 14% in 2010, and
falling to 8% in 2013.
The bilateral trade between Russia and Pakistan reached to 92
million US dollar, which increased to 411.4 million in 2006. The bilateral
trade between each country reached to 630 million in 2008 and 400 million in
2009. During this following year, both countries established the Russian–Pakistan
Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic, Scientific and Technical
Cooperation to cooperation in science and technology and education.
Russia is currently financing the mega energy project, CASA-1000,
transmitting the power generation from Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan
to Pakistan; the Russia has provided 500Mn US dollars for the CASA-1000 for the
power transmission project. In 2011, both countries initiated the work on
the framework n the proposed Free Trade Agreement and currency swap arrangement
to boost bilateral trade and further strengthen their economic ties.
Russia and Pakistan has covertly developed geopolitical and
strategic relations behind the scenes of world politics. As the
NATO-led ISAF and the US Forces,
Afghanistan Command, is planning to depart Afghanistan in 2014, the
Russian Federation came to a conclusion that Pakistan is a crucial player in
Afghanistan and that, as NATO withdraws, it becomes all the more urgent for
Moscow to seek some sort of modus vivendi with Islamabad.
Pakistan’s standoff with USA over NATO attacks on Pakistani
military personnel has strained the ties badly, though Pakistan continues to
receive terror goods from Washington for its services lent for NATO.
Russia views Pakistan as a stepping stone to further increase its
trade with Muslim nations in the region, Southeast Asia, Middle East and
elsewhere, especially in military goods.
Russian president Putin seems to have
outsmarted US president Obama in his Asia pivot agenda which essentially means
to corner China by enacting a series of actions with regional powers, and
struck a historic military deal with Pakistan, the arch foe of India being
promoted with military supplies by the Kremlin for decades. Today, India is the
one of the largest purchasers of Russian military terror goods, just behind
China.
Russia seeks more prospective customers for
its arms and nuclear reactors.
According to Russian news agency TASS,
Russia and Pakistan on November 20 signed their very first military
cooperation agreement and laid out future avenues of cooperation,
ending years of division over Islamabad's close military ties with
the unilateral USA and Moscow's with India.
Sergei Shoigu, the first Russian
defense minister to visit Pakistan since 1969, characterized his meeting
with counterpart Khawaja Asif as an important step in strengthening
ties between Moscow and Islamabad. Although the concrete terms
of the agreement are not publicly known, Shoigu said joint naval exercises
will be a key feature of future cooperation with Pakistan, as well as
military officer exchanges, arms sales and counternarcotics
and counterterrorism cooperation. Behind the scenes, Shoigu may have
been negotiating an important sale of Mi-35 transport helicopters
to Pakistan, Yury Barmin, an expert on Russian arms sales, told
The Moscow Times.
During the meeting they agreed that
bilateral military cooperation should take on a more practical orientation
and enhance the combat capability of their armed forces, Shared
security interests are also drawing Pakistan and Russia closer together,
as evidenced by Shoigu's announcement that joint military exercises
and security cooperation will become a routine feature of their
bilateral relationship.
Russia approved the delivery
of 20 Mi-35s to Pakistan in November, but the details still
have to be negotiated. But more important than specific defense contracts
are Russia's growing strategic interests in the region, driven
by security concerns shared with Pakistan — such as instability
in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. troops
and counterterrorism and counternarcotics efforts.
Last year Russia's recorded exports
to Pakistan were much more limited, valued at a mere $22 million,
according to SIPRI. The total sum is somewhat higher than this, as
Russia also sells arms to Pakistan through China.
Russia-India-Pakistan
Both Russia and USA have been strategic
partners of India. Like USA, Russia also thinks in terms of South Asian
regional interests. Pakistan's reconciliation with India after decades
of animosity and periodic conflict has provided a window
of opportunity for Moscow to expand its relationship with
Islamabad.
Nonetheless, Moscow will play it safe
to ensure that its moves do not anger India, Russia's main strategic
partner in the region, said Pyotr Topychkanov, an analyst at the
Carnegie Moscow Center. India last year purchased $3.8 billion worth
of Russian arms — far ahead of the $981 million worth it
purchased from the USA, according to data from the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Moscow says a strong relationship with
India has to remain Russia's focus in the region and so Russian cooperation
with Pakistan should be very specific and limited, while its cooperation
with India should be much more strategic. Topychkanov said the main purpose
of these exercises is to share experience in counterterrorism,
counternarcotics and anti-piracy. This is the usual cover tactics to hide
the secret arms deals.
Russian strategists claim the key
concern driving Moscow to court Islamabad is the alarming flow
of narcotics out of Afghanistan. "Forty percent of Afghan
drugs travel by sea, and a lot of it ends up in Russian
ports.
Also at play is Pakistan
and India's possible ascension next year to the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, an economic and military organization comprising
Russia, China and several other Central Asian states. In the run-up
to the SCO's summit in Ufa in July 2015, Russia will be courting
India and Pakistan and will avoid doing controversial things, such as
active defense cooperation with Islamabad.
Path of cooperation
When Pakistan came into existence in 1947 as an Islamic nation of
Asia, the then Soviet Russia had not shown any real interests in Pakistan.
Gradually, India began courting Russia to develop its economic infrastructure.
Soviet Union began assisting India by making it an ally against US led capitalist
nations, calling India a socialist nation following non-capitalist economic and
social development. India made maximum profits from its relationship with
Russia for years. .
The Soviet Union and Pakistan first established
the diplomatic and bilateral relations on 1 May 1948. For the most of
the Cold War, the Soviet Union relations with Pakistan have seen ups and
downs during the different periods of Pakistan. In 1947-50s, Soviet
Union enjoyed relatively healthy and strong relations with Pakistan when it was
under the civilian control but the relations went ultimately cold soon after
the US-backed 1958 military coup d'état, although attempts to warm the
relations were made after the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war and in the mid
1970s, the relations were quickly improved and warmed.
Benazir Bhutto, the PM of Pakistan initiated steps for making
friendly ties with Russia and in 1990, sent a warm message to Moscow to set up
the economic coordination between two countries. In 1991, Benazir Bhutto
drove the high-level economic delegation to Central Asia and Russia after
the collapse of Soviet Union. Senior military
officials and Defence Attaché of Pakistan and Russia,
jointly working together at the communications tent at the Nigerian Air Force
Base. In 2011, Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and Vladimir Putin held
a frank discussion in a cordial atmosphere on 10th Heads of Government meeting
of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Changing perceptions in Pakistan
Due to rapidly shifting global
geopolitical interests spurred by the end of the Cold War and the ongoing US-led War on Terror, Pakistani public opinion towards Russia has
fluctuated in recent years, with 18% viewing Russia favorably in 2007, falling
to 11% in 2011 and rising to 20% in 2012. According to the BBC World Service Poll, 9% of Pakistanis
view Russian influence positively in 2010, falling to 12% in
2012, and increasing to 18% in 2013.
However, Pakistanis have generally rated Vladimir Putin's leadership poorly, with 7%
expressing confidence in him in 2006, and only 3% in 2012, and for the most
part, a plurality of Russians have
consistently rated Pakistan's influence negatively, with 13% expressing a
positive view in 2008, increasing slightly to 14% in 2010, and
falling to 8% in 2013.
The bilateral trade between Russia and Pakistan reached to 92
million US dollar, which increased to 411.4 million in 2006. The bilateral
trade between each country reached to 630 million in 2008 and 400 million in
2009. During this following year, both countries established the Russian–Pakistan
Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic, Scientific and Technical
Cooperation to cooperation in science and technology and education.
Russia is currently financing the mega energy project, CASA-1000,
transmitting the power generation from Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan
to Pakistan; the Russia has provided 500Mn US dollars for the CASA-1000 for the
power transmission project. In 2011, both countries initiated the work on
the framework n the proposed Free Trade Agreement and currency swap arrangement
to boost bilateral trade and further strengthen their economic ties.
Russia and Pakistan has covertly developed geopolitical and
strategic relations behind the scenes of world politics. As the
NATO-led ISAF and the US Forces,
Afghanistan Command, is planning to depart Afghanistan in 2014, the
Russian Federation came to a conclusion that Pakistan is a crucial player in
Afghanistan and that, as NATO withdraws, it becomes all the more urgent for
Moscow to seek some sort of modus vivendi with Islamabad.
Pakistan’s standoff with USA over NATO attacks on Pakistani
military personnel has strained the ties badly, though Pakistan continues to
receive terror goods from Washington for its services lent for NATO.
Russia views Pakistan as a stepping stone to further increase its
trade with Muslim nations in the region, Southeast Asia, Middle East and
elsewhere, especially in military goods.
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