Russia Slams 'Indo-Pacific' Strategy, Promises Military Help To Pakistan, Then Assures India

After visiting India, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday travelled to Islamabad where he said Russia was ready to supply special military equipment to Pakistan to boost its counter-terror capabilities.

After assuring military equipment to Pakistan and criticising the Indo-Pacific strategy, Russia today assured India by describing it as a "trusted partner", Russia said there were no divergences or misunderstandings between the two countries and that it has "limited cooperation" with Pakistan based on "independent" relations. Deputy Chief of the Russian mission Roman Babushkin also welcomed the recent commitment by India and Pakistan to follow the 2003 ceasefire on the Line of Control and said these are "very important steps" for regional stability. However, at a joint media briefing with Mr Babushkin, Russian ambassador Nikolay Kudashev criticised the Indo-Pacific strategy by western countries describing it as "dangerous" and an effort to revive the cold war mentality. Mr Babushkin said India must be part of the process of shaping regional consensus on Afghanistan and that New Delhi and Moscow have similar approaches for the Afghan peace process.