On Sunday, Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Danila Ganich announced the signing of a $790 million trade agreement with Pakistan, of which $212 million will be spent on Russian wheat.
“In this regard, an MoU was signed in 2020 between Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Pakistan’s Ministry of Food Security,” the Russian envoy told a private TV channel.
“I confirm that no MoU has been signed on the trade of wheat and oil at cheaper prices with Pakistan,” Ganich said in response to a question about Imran Khan‘s assertions that Russia has given the PTI-led government lower oil prices.
Khan has claimed that his administration is buying low-priced oil from Russia since being ousted in April by a no-confidence vote, and has even produced a letter to that effect.
Negotiations between Pakistani and Russian officials had taken place under the Imran Khan-led government and continued under the current government, according to the envoy. “But I cannot talk about what discount could be offered,” he continued.
In response to a question on Imran Khan’s claims that his visit to Russia was the reason for his removal, the ambassador said the former prime minister’s attendance in Moscow on the day Russia attacked Ukraine was a coincidence. “Imran Khan would never have visited the country that day if he had known,” Ganich claimed.
Imran Khan, according to the ambassador, is essentially an honest man who wants to work for the good of his people.
In response to recent Islamophobic remarks by Indian officials, Ganich stated it was unacceptable to denigrate other religions.
In response to a question about aid to Afghanistan, he stated that humanitarian aid should be given to the Afghan people.
The envoy refuted rumors in Western media that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ill, saying that Putin was on the job 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
He said that Russia’s economy has slowed as a result of the sanctions, but that “we’ll revive our economy by next year.”
He stated that Russia was not a country’s satellite state. “Whenever we feel a threat, we will go to any extent to alleviate that.”
To read our blog on “PM Shahbaz shows stress towards importing wheat from Russia,” click here.
