Sochi diplomacy

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in the Russian city of Sochi – the first since Pakistan was given full membership in the organisation – was an important step in our gradual shift away from the US and towards Russia. As ties between Pakistan and the US have eroded, we have tried to diversify our foreign policy alliances by seeking out greater contacts with countries like Russia. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s meeting with Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev was part of that effort. The two leaders discussed greater cooperation in energy and a possible increase in trade. For Pakistan, the aim is to pursue alternative alliances now that the US has been shown as an unreliable partner. Russia, meanwhile, is trying to become more active on the international stage. Immediately before the SCO meeting, Sochi hosted a summit on the Middle East where Russia has involved itself through its support for Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russia wants to be a major player in the international community again and seeking closer ties with Pakistan is one way for it to get a foothold in South Asia.
Pakistan’s second objective at Sochi was to shore up its alliance with China. Abbasi met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang where both leaders expressed satisfaction at the progress of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. A slight note of discord had crept into the relationship in recent months after reports emerged that China may no longer block an Indian initiative to have Hafiz Saeed declared a global terrorist by the UN. That, coupled with the inclusion of the Lashkar-e-Taiba as a militant threat that must be confronted in the declaration issued at the last Brics summit, could explain why Abbasi devoted a significant portion of his speech to reiterate that Pakistan will not allow any militant groups to operate on its soil. He also reminded the meeting of the significant human and economic losses Pakistan has suffered in our fight against militancy. As expected, there was no diplomatic breakthrough with India – the country that has done its best to isolate us internationally and which also became a full member of the SCO at the same time as Pakistan. Although Indian External Affairs Minister Shushma Swaraj was present, she did not meet with the Pakistani delegation. As expected, her speech focused on terrorism although she did congratulate Pakistan on its membership to the SCO and said terrorism should never be linked to any one religion or community. Still, that hardly represents a breakthrough and for Pakistan whatever diplomatic gains were made at Sochi came in its interactions with Russia and China. Pakistan is no longer looking towards the West for help and the Sochi summit underlined our search for new allies like Russia.