Pak - Russia ties: COAS to visit Russia next week

• Subscribe to PCF Networked Blog Daily Updates 
• Subscribe to our Twitter / Google / Yahoo Daily Updates

ISLAMABAD - Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will pay official visit to Russia next week signalling the possibility of a marked shift in Pakistan-Russia ties marred by the Cold War rivalry. Kayani will become the first Pakistani Army chief to undertake a State visit to Moscow, though former military ruler Pervez Musharraf did visit the Russian capital as the then Head of State in 2003.According to official sources, Kayani would make the “historic trip” in the second week of September, marking the beginning of a new phase of ,otherwise, troubled ties. 

He is expecting a warm welcome in Moscow, where he is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart and also President Vladimir Putin.Kayani was originally scheduled to visit the former superpower in early August but the trip was delayed due to a series of meetings with US officials as part of rapprochement between Islamabad and Washington.According to sources, the two countries would push for greater military-to-military cooperation during COAS Kayani’s trip, adding, that Islamabad and Moscow share similar views on the Afghan situation and have voiced concerns over US military presence in the war-torn country beyond 2014.

(The Nation)

Pakistan Cyber Force

Follow PCF on Facebook

Follow PCF on Twitter