V. KORGUN

Doctor of Historical Sciences

Relations between Russia and Pakistan over the past decades have been shaped mainly by external factors. In the past, during the Cold War, the Soviet Union and Pakistan belonged to opposing socio-political systems, were members of opposing military-political blocs-Warsaw and SENTO and SEATO, respectively. Pakistan pursued a pro-American foreign policy and maintained essentially hostile relations with India. Under these circumstances, the USSR supported India, which pursued a policy of non-alignment.

However, despite such a one-sided foreign policy orientation, the USSR and Pakistan sought to cooperate. So, in 1966, the Soviet Prime Minister A. Kosygin acted as a mediator in the military conflict between India and Pakistan. At the same time, in the 60s, relations between the two countries developed somewhat with the signing of the agreement on cooperation in the development of the oil industry of Pakistan in 1961. The revival of economic ties was facilitated by the visits of President M. Ayub Khan to the Soviet Union in 1965 and 1967 and A. Kosygin to Pakistan in 1968 and 1969. Cooperation between the two countries continued to develop after the 1971 crisis in Pakistan, especially in the field of energy.

The further development of Soviet-Pakistani relations was negatively affected by the events of the late 1970s in Afghanistan - the coup d'etat of 1978 and the rise to power of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. However, the Afghan problem has long been an irritant in relations between the two countries.

Sharp contradictions between the two neighbors, the refusal of Afghanistan to join the SENTO bloc, the attempts of Kabul to solve the problem of Pashtunistan and its subsequent reorientation to the Soviet Union-all this complicated Soviet-Pakistani contacts. At the same time, the normalization of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations in the second half of the 1970s and a certain cooling of relations between Moscow and Kabul during this period did not radically change the nature of relations between the USSR and Pakistan.

Islamabad continued to maintain good neighborly relations with Afghanistan in the first years after the left-wing forces came to power in Kabul, as evidenced by the visit of Pakistani President Zia ul-Haq to Kabul in September 1978.However, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 disrupted the fragile balance of power in the region. Under these circumstances, Pakistan, along with most of the world community, condemned the Soviet action and actively supported the Afghan opposition. On its territory, in Peshawar, under the auspices of local authorities, the headquarters of Afghan Islamic opposition parties were opened. After the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, Pakistan became even closer to the United States, becoming a conductor of American policy in the region. It is not surprising that under such circumstances, Soviet-Pakistani relations sharply deteriorated, but did not stop: President Z. ul-Haq in 1982, 1984 and 1985 paid an official visit to the USSR and held talks on a political settlement around Afghanistan.

Thus, the political aspect of relations between the two countries has come to the fore. In 1982. Pakistan joined the process of negotiations on Afghanistan, which ended in 1988 with the signing of the Geneva Agreements between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which were guaranteed by the USSR and the United States. The subsequent withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in February 1989 created new opportunities for normalizing and revitalizing Soviet-Pakistani relations. But this did not happen: Moscow and Islamabad continued to supply weapons to their clients in Afghanistan. The Afghan crisis has not been resolved.

In 1992, when the Mujahideen came to power in Kabul, the balance of political forces in the country and the region radically changed. The United States, the main sponsor of the Afghan Islamic opposition, has lost interest in Afghanistan. Under these circumstances, Russia tried to reanimate its weakened position in Afghanistan to some extent by sending Foreign Minister A. Kozyrev to Kabul. But it was clear that the Kremlin no longer had much interest in a country where its bitter opponents were in power. In addition, a civil war has begun in Afghanistan. The Russian embassy in Kabul was closed, leaving only the Consulate General in the north of the country, in Mazar-I-Sharif.

Nevertheless, Moscow sought to use the changed situation to revive its contacts with Pakistan: in 1993, Russian Foreign Minister A. Kozyrev paid a visit to Islamabad, and in 1994, his Pakistani counterpart A. Ali paid a return visit to Moscow. Although a number of documents on cooperation in some areas were prepared during these visits, these contacts did not develop further at that time.

The rise to power of the Taliban in Kabul in 1996 practically froze Russian-Afghan relations (the Russian Consulate General moved to the border itself, to Khairatan, and then to the Uzbek border town of Termez). Russia not only did not recognize the Taliban regime, but also condemned its policies. Pakistan also announced the official recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Moreover, while Moscow supported Dushanbe in the inter-Tajik conflict, Kabul supported the united Tajik opposition.

However, even in these difficult conditions, Russia not only continued to maintain contacts with Pakistan, the main sponsor of the Islamic Revolution.-

It has also stepped up relations with the Taliban, addressing both bilateral issues and the Afghan problem. In 1999, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made a long-awaited official visit to Moscow, where an agreement on economic cooperation was signed. During the meetings with the Russian leadership, regional and international issues were discussed.

At a time when Islamabad was striving to bring a pro-Pakistan government to power in Kabul and thus practically implement President Ayyub's long-standing idea, expressed back in 1958, of creating a Pakistan-Afghanistan confederation in which Pakistan would act as the dominant force, Moscow actively engaged in the process of resolving the Afghan crisis within the framework of "groups of friends and neighbors of Afghanistan " - "6 plus 2" with the participation of Pakistan. At that time, the project of laying the trans-Afghan gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and further to India with the participation of Gazprom became a point of contact between Russian and Pakistani interests. However, this project was not implemented at that time due to the unstable situation in Afghanistan, and it was not possible to re-activate relations between the two countries. Pakistan's open interference in Afghan events and its support for religious extremism in Afghanistan also served as a brake on this path. This position of Islamabad met with sharp criticism from Moscow.

The events of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent elimination of the Taliban regime radically changed the situation in the region. The formation of the interim government in Kabul headed by H. Karzai and its focus on democratizing Afghan society created conditions for cooperation between Russia and Pakistan both in the field of reconstruction of Afghanistan and in the framework of international and regional economic projects. However, the two countries failed to find a common basis for political interaction in Afghanistan, as they supported opposing political forces in the country-Moscow supported the northern minorities, and Islamabad relied on the Pashtun community. Moreover, despite the fact that Pakistan, under pressure from the United States, has declared a war on terror, some of its structures and religious and political circles secretly support the Taliban.

Nevertheless, at the new stage, Russia and Pakistan have gained new opportunities for interaction and cooperation within the framework of international and regional projects in which Afghanistan participates. First of all, we are talking about the reanimation of the project for the construction of the trans-Afghan gas pipeline from Turkmenistan (the Dauletabad field) through Afghan territory to Pakistan. After the signing of agreement b on this project in Ashgabat in 2003 between S. Niyazov, H. Karzai and P. Musharraf, work on its implementation intensified.

The rapprochement between Russia and Pakistan accelerated after President Musharraf's visit to Russia in February 2003.

Gazprom's participation in the project expanded the scope of Russian-Pakistani cooperation in the field of gas production: in the summer of 2007. A Gazprom delegation visited Pakistan and met with officials, including Secretary of the Ministry of Oil and Natural Resources V. A. Choudhry. Following the visit, a memorandum was signed that will allow Gazprom to use its potential in developing the gas industry in Pakistan. In addition, they also discussed the participation of the Russian company in the construction of a strategic pipeline from Iran to India.

However, the main area of application of interests of Russia and Pakistan in the region remains Central Asia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Pakistan shows its intention to enter the markets of Central Asian countries. In this regard, he is interested in intensifying cooperation with Russia, which participates in regional economic projects - transport and energy. We are talking about creating a North-South corridor that includes not only gas and oil pipelines, but also highways and railways that will connect Russia (as well as Europe) with the countries of South and possibly Southeast Asia through Afghanistan.

IRAN'S GAS CAPABILITIES HAVE ALSO ENTERED THE "GAME"

Russia sees Pakistan as one of the future Asian energy bridges if a 2,670-kilometer pipeline is put into operation, which will connect rich Iranian fields with Western Indian states. Gazprom's participation in the construction of the pipeline was one of the key topics discussed by the Russian gas company's delegation in Islamabad. However, Gazprom is not limited to participating in this project with a preliminary cost of $ 7 billion. Following the talks, as already mentioned, a memorandum of understanding was signed, which will give Russia the opportunity to actively use its technologies and resources in the exploration and development of oil and gas fields, the development of Pakistan's gas infrastructure, as well as the implementation of projects on the use of natural gas as a motor fuel.

Another major regional energy project involving Russia and Pakistan is the transfer of electricity from Tajikistan to Afghanistan and further to Pakistan. With the completion of the Rogun hydroelectric power station and the two Songtuda power plants, in which Russia and Iran participate, Tajikistan's electricity exports will take on an international scale and connect the energy systems of a number of Central and South Asian countries.

Finally, cooperation between Russia and Pakistan in all these and other joint regional and international projects, which include Afghanistan, can be supported by the interaction of the three countries in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. (In the SCO, Pakistan and Afghanistan, like Iran, have the status of observer countries.) By participating in its activities, Russia and Pakistan can help solve many problems that Afghanistan faces, such as international terrorism, drug trafficking, smuggling, corruption, poverty reduction, etc.

We must assume that the solution of the Afghan problem will bring relations between Russia and Pakistan to a higher level.

Permanent link to this publication: