Russia says US will hinder its energy cooperation with Pakistan after threatening India & China

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Pakistan`s counterpart Bilawal Zardari hold a joint press conference following their talks in Moscow on January 30, 2023. AFP Photo

Russia on Monday accused the US of "publicly, shamelessly and arrogantly" threatening countries like India, China and Turkey to prevent them from doing business with it and said Washington will now hinder Moscow's cooperation with Islamabad in the energy sphere.

The comments by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov came at a press conference with visiting Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari here.

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"The United States, almost to everyone, publicly, shamelessly and quite arrogantly says that you cannot do business with Russia. There have been threats against China recently, as well as against India, Turkey, and Egypt. There is not a single country that the United States would not send such neo-colonial messages to," Lavrov was quoted as saying by the official Tass news agency.

The US has repeatedly warned countries against doing business with entities subject to US curbs as Washington cracks down on Russian attempts to evade sanctions imposed over its war in Ukraine.

"As regards the United States, they will hinder our deals in the energy sphere" they will certainly stand in the way," he said.

Bilawal's first visit to Moscow comes after a high-level Russian delegation led by energy minister Nikolay Shulginov visited Pakistan recently to explore possibilities of providing oil to cash-strapped Pakistan.

The overwhelming majority of countries, including Pakistan, are governed primarily by their national interests, the Russian top diplomat said.

Lavrov also said that progress is expected soon regarding the talks on the construction of the Pakistan Stream Pipeline.

"The issue is already at an advanced stage of consideration. I am confident that there will be progress in the near future," he said.

Special attention was paid to this issue during the meeting of the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation of the two countries staged in Islamabad in January 2023, Lavrov noted.

Russia is ready to sign the necessary corporate documents for the construction of the Pakistan Stream gas pipeline, Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov said earlier.

The Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline is a Russian proposed pipeline stretching from Karachi to the city of Kasur in Punjab, Pakistan. It is a 1,100 km-long project which is contracted by the Pakistani government to be built by Russia.

During the press conference, Lavrov also accused the West of engaging in "acts of terrorism" against Russia and sabotaging its interests.

"We are aware of the actions our Western colleagues can resort to. Not merely to threats of secondary sanctions but also to direct acts of terrorism, just as it was with the sabotage at the Nord Stream and the Nord Stream 2," Lavrov added.

On September 26, 2022, the pressure dropped at both Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines that run from Russia to Europe under the Baltic. Three separate leaks were recorded off the coasts of Denmark and Sweden, a few dozen kilometres apart.

Both lines of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline were impacted, along with one line of Nord Stream 2.

Officials from countries in the region have said sabotage was a likely cause of the incident.

The West and Russia have accused each other of the attack.

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