On 18 May 2026, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Ryabkov,. Additional Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Tahir Hussain Andrabi, co-chaired the 16th meeting of the Russia-Pakistani Consultative Group on Strategic Stability in Moscow. Both countries decided to hold the 17th meeting next year in Islamabad. Despite increased diplomatic engagement in recent years between the two countries, Russia-¬Pakistan relations are still in a normalisation phase. increased engagement between the two states currently is more so for the purpose of strategic normalisation rather than strategic alignment. This bilateral relationship undergoing a gradual but important stage of evolution is significant. Russia seeks partners to reduce diplomatic isolation,. Pakistan seeks strategic diversification to move beyond its excessive dependence on the West.
Russia-¬Pakistan relations are emerging, but under the persistent shadow of India's privileged place in Russian strategic thinking as it enjoys a historic, time-tested defence. strategic partnership with India which continues to shape both the opportunities and limits of bilateral engagement between Russia and Pakistan - which so far has remained tactical and limited. Many American Presidents have visited Pakistan, but President Putin is yet to visit the country. Compare this with the Annual Summit that the Indian Prime Minister. the Russian President hold on a rotational basis, and besides this, both have met each other over 20 times in recent years.
Over time, India has also expanded its relationship with the US – a relationship that geopolitical analysts view in the form of Indian engagement in QUAD, the Indo-Pacific strategy. the defence and technological partnership with the US. In Pakistan, the growing realisation is that if India can diversify its relationship. partner with both the US and Russia, why can't it do the same? South Asian geopolitical sensitivities, security perceptions and regional priorities have long been read by Russia through an Indian lens. It recognises, supports. preserves Indian centrality in South Asia while considering India as the primary stabilising regional power and would avoid any actions that would undermine Indian strategic advantage. Even if Russia envisages a multipolar Asia in the future, it will place India at its centre. These are some of the geopolitical realities that seem enduring,. given the right approach, Pakistan can work to undermine them.
There is another aspect to the Russia-Pakistan bilateral relationship - China. India considers China as a long-term strategic challenger,. the future of South Asia is being seen by many as wider India-China competitive theatre. But Russia is in an 'unlimited partnership' with China. balances that strategic partnership against its historic defence and political ties with India. For Pakistan, this means that Russia will also remain open to engagement with it. for that, Pakistan should - like China - offer not just friendship but relevance.
Pakistan holds five strong cards that it must consider playing well in this bilateral partnership. I call it the foundational BASE (bridge, Afghanistan, sea access, energy market) of its relationship with Russia. Pakistan should not just justify but take practical steps to highlight its great potential as a bridge between South Asia, Central Asia. Eurasia. It should work with Russia to utilise the combined power of both countries. help improve security conditions in Afghanistan, leverage Gwadar Port and Karachi Port as potential nodes for Russian trade, energy transit and sea access, and build a relationship with Russia by inviting its participation in refinery modernisation and energy infrastructure.
China's relevance to Russia, besides other factors, is that it buys 30% of Russian exports. supplies 40% of its imports. Russia and Pakistan don't possess the depth of strategic trust seen in Russia-India or Russia-China relations. Russia will only engage in a strategic,. not tactical, partnership with Pakistan if it sees an enduring material value in the relationship. Only if Pakistan can afford to give Russia the geopolitical leverage, material benefit. strategic reliability can this bilateral relationship attain strategic significance; else it will remain issue-based and tactical at best. Pakistan-Russia relations should not just be about oil. wheat purchase; buying discounted oil and wheat is useful but gradually expanding the relationship and building joint economic and security infrastructure will elevate this bilateral link into a strategic domain.
If Pakistan wants to develop a strategic relationship with Russia, it will have to alter its policy orientation towards it,. not just towards the US and China. Think tanks and universities in Pakistan will have to focus on deeper Russia-related academic and policy research. Think tanks must consider holding a Russian Chair and engage in and promote strategic dialogue between the two countries. Teaching the Russian language will have to be as important as teaching Chinese. Only by undertaking such steps will Pakistan offer relevance and not just friendship. So far, Russia is in a strategic partnership with China. India but with Pakistan, it only has a tactical engagement.
In the changing regional and global order, Russia seeks partnerships to dilute Western-led structures. It can only do that by building alternative networks of cooperation in the economic, political and security domains. Both Russia and China want reduced Western influence and dependence on Western institutions. Pakistan, as I wrote earlier, also seeks diversity in its external policymaking. not just partnership in the context of rigid Cold War-style blocs but overlapping ones that secure its national interests. Such partnerships are for the future, a future that promotes a multipolar international order. An order which is less exploitative and in which power is more dispersed, particularly that of the US.
If Pakistan. besides the five aforementioned cards, also explores civil-nuclear dialogue with Russia, that may just become the fastest route to Russian strategic relevance. As said earlier, Pakistan needs to offer relevance. not just friendship and demonstrate that it can be a reliable, autonomous and strategically useful partner over time.
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