Pakistan’s petroleum minister, Musadik Malik, upon his return from a short visit to Moscow, announced that Russia would provide Pakistan with crude oil and diesel at a discounted price. Musadik also confirmed a Russian invitation regarding the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Pakistan.
After many false starts, many in Pakistan believed that energy ties with Moscow could really develop this time. Following the announcement, various Pakistani officials informed the media that Pakistan was all set to start purchasing 4.3 million tonnes of oil from Russia to help meet its annual demand and consumption of 19.92 million tonnes of oil and diesel.
Musadik pointed out that buying energy from Russia was necessary since Pakistan’s energy supplies need to rise by 8 to 10 percent to meet its target growth rate of 5 to 6 percent. There is no denying that Pakistan could use cheap energy resources from Russia to revive its economy, which has been struggling to gain momentum for the past five years.
However, this good news proved to be short-lived as Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari shot it down during his visit to the United States in mid-December 2022. In his engagement with the U.S. media during his visit, Bhutto confirmed that Pakistan was neither pursuing or receiving any discounted energy from Russia. Bhutto also confirmed that Russian supplies could not materialize immediately, as energy ties with Moscow, he said, will take a long time for us to develop. Bhutto’s statement came within a week of Musadik’s visit to Moscow.
Whatsoever, the major outcome is that Pakistan and Russia are all set to discuss energy cooperation again in March. Adding to other ambiguities surrounding the ongoing scenario, more questions about the currency to be used to make payments to Moscow, are also making headlines.
