As an 80-person delegation led by Russia’s energy minister, Nikolay Shulgenov, visits Pakistan to negotiate oil trade regulations, the likelihood of Russian oil imports is growing. The representatives met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and delivered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s message that Pakistan is a crucial South Asian ally for Russia. Ned Price, a spokesman for the American State Department, on the other hand, stated that Pakistan is a significant ally of the United States within the framework of long-standing strategic ties in Washington. The declarations of partnership with Pakistan by both superpowers have occurred frequently in the context of the 75-year-old relationship between Russia and Pakistan.
When Liaquat Ali Khan had plans to go to Moscow in 1949, Jawaharlal Nehru’s maiden trip to the United States was announced, following the Partition of India. The US sent out encouraging indications. In the Cold War, Liaquat Ali Khan’s visit served as a signal for Pakistan to join the SATO and SATO coalitions, which strained ties with the Soviet Union and led to Pakistan joining the American camp. Later, under Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardi’s rule, things became better, and both nations improved their relations with one another. Progress was made in the spheres of industry and agriculture, cultural delegations were visited, and Soviet films were played in Pakistan. In 1960, relations between Pakistan and the US took on a new dimension, and Pakistan distanced itself from the Soviet Union. President Ayub traveled to Moscow in 1965. Pakistan and the United States reestablished ties as a result of the developing affinities between India and the Soviet Union.
President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972 as a result of Pakistan’s significant involvement in easing tensions between China and the United States. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto traveled to the Soviet Union for the first time as prime minister that same year. The two nations had the chance to improve their relationship during their second visit in 1974, but Pakistan sided with the US when Soviet soldiers invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Till the Soviet Union’s demise, there was animosity between Pakistan and the Soviet Union.
Pakistan sided with the US in the second Afghan war in 2001; however, this time, the US began asking Pakistan to “do more” in the fight against terrorism in order to resume aid, in which Pakistan suffered significant casualties. After the American troops left Afghanistan, problems with Pakistan once again surfaced, and the US government halted providing military assistance to Pakistan. The visit of Imran Khan to Russia did not go down well in the US.
When Pakistan is dealing with the biggest food and energy crises in its history, the US has for the first time not questioned Pakistan’s advance toward Russia, which is undoubtedly the outcome of Pakistan’s good diplomacy. Given the words of the leadership and the American spokesman, both nations’ awareness of the needs of Pakistan affected by climate change in the current scenario can serve as the foundation for establishing a new era of a genuine and lasting partnership.
