Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said Islamabad fully respects Moscow’s relations with New Delhi, describing them as “perfectly fine.” He made the remarks during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing. Sharif emphasised Pakistan’s desire to deepen cooperation with Russia, while also lauding Putin’s leadership. He credited Russia for doing a ‘balancing act’ in the Indo-Pak region.
“We also want to build very strong relations, which would be supplementary and complementary to the progress and prosperity of the region,” he said, adding that he viewed the Russian President as a “very dynamic leader” and looked forward to working closely with him.
In his remarks, the Pakistani Prime Minister reiterated that Islamabad is committed to forging robust ties with Moscow. “And we also want to build very strong relations … and these relations will be supplementary and complimentary for the progress and prosperity of the region,” he said.
Putin’s Diplomatic Meetings in Beijing
❗️”We Respect Russia’s Relations with India” – Pakistan PM Sharif to Putin https://t.co/9f7JEhjbT1 pic.twitter.com/meqFETLujp
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) September 2, 2025
Both leaders are scheduled to attend a large-scale Chinese military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II.
In a post on X, Shehbaz wrote, “I underscored Pakistan’s readiness to deepen its cooperation with Russia in trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, AI, defence, culture & people-to-people exchanges. We also discussed regional & global issues and agreed on the importance of enhanced Pak-Russia cooperation at multilateral fora, especially SCO.”
“Grateful to President Putin for his gracious invitation extended to me to visit Russia for the upcoming SCO CHG meeting in November. Pakistan and Russia are moving forward together to build stronger ties for the mutual benefit of our peoples as well as for peace and prosperity in the region,” he added.
At the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit earlier, Sharif was seen following Putin in an effort to catch his attention and shake hands, as the Russian leader walked alongside China’s Xi Jinping after the group photograph.
PM Modi Flags Terror Threat at SCO Summit
Separately, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 25th SCO Heads of State Council Summit on Monday. In his remarks, he underlined that terrorism threatens not just individual nations but the entire world. He cautioned that “double standards” in addressing terrorism would not be acceptable.
Referring to the recent attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, Modi noted that India has borne the brunt of terrorism for four decades. He also expressed appreciation to partner nations that have stood by New Delhi in its fight against terrorism.
