- Monday, March 10, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
When Indian prime minister Narendra Modi told Russian president Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, last week that it was not a good time for war in connection with the Ukraine conflict, the western world, including the US media, was elated.
It also said that Putin was left more isolated by nations that are considered close to Moscow.
However, it has now been reported that Russia is also in talks with Pakistan for oil imports and that too on deferred payment basis, something that would help India’s cash-strapped western neighbour.
Pakistani newspaper Express Tribune said Islamabad is in talks with Moscow over the possibility of importing oil on deferred payment.
Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif had three meetings with Putin on the sidelines of the same summit last week. One of them was formal while the rest was informal, said an official who was part of Sharif’s delegation.
“What we have discussed during the recent interaction with the Russian side is the possibility of importing oil on deferred payment,” the official said. He further said that Moscow has shown inclination to consider the proposal, Press Trust of India reported quoting the Pakistani newspaper.
If everything goes as per plan, it will be a landmark development given Pakistan’s oil import from the Gulf nations. In the past, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have given oil to Pakistan on deferred payment basis.
However, it was not still clear whether the Pakistan-Russia equation over oil supply could face a hindrance from the US.
Sources in Pakistan foreign office, however, said that the US has never explicitly told Pakistan not to import oil from Russia but “advised us that it is better if we don’t enter into such a venture with Russia”, the report said.
According to the Tribune, the transcript released by the Russian side after the Sharid-Putin meeting did not suggest that Moscow was not willing to work with the new government of Pakistan which is often labelled as the US “puppet” by former prime minister Imran Khan and his supporters, Asian News International reported.
Putin told Modi after the latter’s advice that he understood India’s concerns. Now, if Pakistan’s oil trade with Russia becomes a reality, India might have new concerns. Will the Kremlin care for that as well?
