Pakistan's delegation in Moscow delivers PM Shehbaz Sharif's 'personal letter' to Putin
Amid ongoing tensions with India following the Pahalgam terror attack, a Pakistani delegation on Tuesday met Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow and delivered a personal letter from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to President Vladimir Putin.
The delegation, which was led by Syed Tariq Fatemi, special assistant to the Pak PM, also updated Lavrov on the evolving situation in South Asia.
While details of the letter were not made public, the visit is being closely watched as Islamabad seeks to maintain strategic ties with Moscow amid growing Russian alignment with India on key security issues.
The timing of the meeting is significant, coming just days after a multi-party Indian parliamentary delegation, led by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, visited Russia to highlight Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism.
'The special assistant handed over a letter addressed to President Vladimir Putin from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,' the Pakistani Embassy in Moscow was quoted as saying by Russia's state-run TASS news agency.
Lavrov said that a direct dialogue between Pakistan and India is needed to build mutual trust between the two countries, the news agency reported, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Fatemi also conveyed the prime minister's greetings and his country's desire to expand bilateral cooperation with Russia on a wide range of issues, including energy, transport links, trade and other areas.
Pakistan announced last month to send a team of experts to foreign capitals to inform the world about the four-day conflict with India and also highlight its point of view regarding the conflict.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam terror attack, with India carrying out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7.
Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.
The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.
(with PTI inputs)
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