Editorial: Russia Ends Arms Embargo Against Pakistan

Russian Air Force Mi-35М (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons)

By Zachary Keck

Although the decision will irk India, it is most likely related to the drawdown of NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Russia has decided to lift a long-standing, self-imposed arms embargo against Pakistan, according to state media.

On Monday the Moscow Times reported that Sergei Chemezov, head of state-owned technology corporation Rostec, said that Russia had decided to lift an arms embargo against Pakistan. Chemezov added that Russia is negotiating the sale of Mi-35 attack helicopters to Pakistan.

“The decision was taken and we are negotiating the delivery of helicopters,” he said, Voice of Russia reported.

Pavel Felgenhauer, whom AFP said is a leading Russian defense commentator, characterized the move as a “sea change” in Russian policy, and one that risked antagonizing India.

“This is an important, key change in Russian policy in the region,” Felgenhauer told AFP. He added: “The sale of arms to Pakistan will abruptly worsen our relations with India, the main buyer of our arms… This risks dismantling our cooperation with India.”

However, Boris Volkhonsky, head of the Asian sector of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, dismissed such views in comments to Russian state media on Monday. “I do not think that India will have any objections. After all, India and Pakistan both buy weapons from the U.S., and this has not bothered them,” Volkhonsky told Russian media

For its part, Pakistan is denying that an arms embargo ever existed at all. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat