Pakistan gas supplies plan possible, says Putin to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that gas can be supplied to Pakistan and that some of the necessary infrastructure is already in place. However, according to the Russian news agency TASS, Putin cited stability in Afghanistan as a problem. This was stated by the Russian president during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the 22nd summit of the Council of Heads of State (CHS) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
“The problem relates to gas supplies through gas pipelines from Russia to Pakistan, which is also possible, which means that some of the infrastructure has already been built, namely Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. We have to resolve the Afghan question, “Putin noted. The Russian president expressed hope to overcome the obstacle. “Of course, there are issues related to political stability, but given our mutual good relations with the Afghan people, I hope this issue can also be resolved, I mean Pakistan’s influence on the situation in the country,” he added.
Shehbaz had already reached Uzbekistan to attend the SCO summit. Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Deputy Foreign Minister, Minister of Education and Governor of Samarkand received Shehbaz upon his arrival at Samarkand International Airport.
Pakistan gas supplies plan possible, says Putin to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
Shehbaz then visited the Khizr complex and paid homage to the mausoleum of Uzbekistan’s first president, Islam Karimov. He then held separate meetings with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Putin and Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and Defense Minister Khwaja Asif are part of the delegation accompanying Shehbaz during the two-day visit.
