Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday said that besides gas, Russia had also offered to provide wheat to Pakistan in the wake of catastrophic floods and keeping in view the possibility of food shortages that may occur in the aftermath of deluges.
“Russia has said that it can provide us wheat because in the coming days we may have shortages […],” he revealed at a press conference in Islamabad.
The minister’s statements come a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation returned from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan.
During his two-day visit, the premier held meetings with several world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. In one such meeting on Thursday, Putin said that pipeline gas supplies to Pakistan were possible, revealing that necessary infrastructures were already in place.
The two leaders also expressed commitment to expand and strengthen cooperation between their countries across all areas of mutual benefit, including food security, trade and investment, energy, defence, and security.
In a media talk today, Asif confirmed the development.
“They have said that they can give us gas. Russia said that they have gas pipelines in Central Asian countries and the pipelines could be extended to Pakistan via Afghanistan. These talks have taken place,” he elaborated.
The minister said that President Putin also appreciated Pakistan’s position on the Russia-Ukraine war in the United Nations (UN) and internationally.
Talking about the meeting with the Chinese president, he said that Xi expressed his wish to resume the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project with the “same efficiency and passion”.
“To Pakistan, he said that we are all-weather friends and offered to help the country in every situation,” he added.
