Musharraf's Russian Visit Melts Ice Between Two Sides

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, February 08, 2003

Musharraf's Russian Visit Melts Ice Between Two Sides

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was back in Islamabad on Thursday after his three-day visit on Russia, which is widely seen in Islamabad as the ice-broken signal between the two sides.

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Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was back in Islamabad on Thursday after his three-day visit on Russia, which is widely seen in Islamabad as the ice-broken signal between the two sides.

The Wednesday one-on-one meeting between Musharraf and Russian President Vladimir Putin stretched from the scheduled one hour to over two hours. It was lauded by local media here as the ending ofthe past bitterness in the Pak-Russia relationship for over half acentury, given that Musharraf's visit to Moscow is the first by a Pakistani head of state in 30 years.

Through the whole Cold War era, Pakistan and Russia had been on opposite sides. The two countries were at odds with each other especially in the wake of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, which is Pakistan's neighbor.

The first fruitful result gained by Musharraf from his trip is the support from his Russian counterpart in the resuming of the Pak-India dialogue over Kashmir issue. In the meeting between the two presidents and the joint statement issued thereafter, Russia stressed that all outstanding disputes between the two South Asian nuclear rivals have to be resolved through talks on the basis of equity and justice.

Putin also praised during the meeting Pakistan's efforts to stop the infiltration by Muslim extremists from across the Line of Control, which is the as-a-matter-of-fact border between Pakistan and India in the disputed Kashmir area.

Putin's comments were seen as precious by Pakistan especially at the very moment when India is keeping flaying Pakistan for sponsoring the alleged cross-border terrorism.

The US Ambassador to Pakistan Nancy Powell recently openly said Pakistan must stop being a "platform for terrorism," which sours Pakistan, the US loyal ally in the anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan.

The White House on Wednesday lifted the sanction on the export of some hi-tech products to India, which could also have military applications, making the Russian back-up more precious at the moment.

The back-up, however, is not unrestricted, and never is it unrestricted.

The Russian President made it clear during the Wednesday talk with his Pak counterpart, "All problems between India and Pakistan must be resolved in compliance with the Lahore Declaration and theSimla Accord."

One more piece of detail which might upset Pakistan is that Putin, who reportedly phoned Indian Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee the day Musharaff arrived in Moscow, made it clear that any warming up of relations between Russia and Pakistan would be without prejudice to the former's relations with its traditional friends.

Pakistan could still be optimistic about the bright future of the relations with Russia, for the two countries will see an all-around cooperation in trade, commerce, energy and even military sectors, which was stressed by both two presidents after their meeting.

Though no Russia's confirmed promise to be the mediator in Kashmir, where the tension is rising, Pakistan joyfully heard its president said, "We should bury our past and make a new beginning in relations between the two countries."

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