Islamabad, Nov. 17 (TNS): A Moscow-based political analyst strongly believes that Iran, Pakistan and Russia through their cooperation can bring peace and stability to the region especially in Afghanistan.
Andrew Korybko made the remarks while responding to a question of IRNA at roundtable discussion on ‘Evolution of Pakistan-Russia Relations’ at Strategic Studies Institute Islamabad, Iranian media reported on Friday.
Unlike the US, he noted, Russia is trying to bring Iran and Pakistan closer.
There have been ups and down in relations between Iran and Pakistan but now both countries are coming closer due to various regional developments, Korybko said.
According to the Russian analyst, there was a cross-border terrorist attack in Iran last May and there were speculations that the terrorists came from Pakistan. ‘For a moment, there was a disagreement between both sides, but due to very brilliant diplomacy, the situation was resolved and both sides came together.’
“I believe that this was not a Pakistani-conspired attack as some intelligence agencies of foreign countries working with some worst terrorists organizations like Daesh were involved in it and tried to create a self-sustaining terrorist movement inside Balochistan with a purpose to destabilize the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).’ Korybko added the attack was an attempt to provoke deterioration in Pakistan and Iran relations.
“Both countries have their own shared security concern. For the Chinese projects, Pakistan is working on CPEC, while Iran has plan to a build trans-regional railway with China.” The political analyst added that Russia is directly involved in the region. “Iran, Pakistan and Russia are also cooperating with one another to restore peace in Afghanistan,” he said.
He said Russia being an energy giant is interested to build a pipeline from Iran and Pakistan upto India. “Russia needs business and no one can build gas pipelines better than Russia. This would be a step in right direction to solidify the diplomatic coordination between Iran and Pakistan and give something tangible to the region.’
Korybko went on to say that India would not be hesitant to join the Russian energy project. “Once Russia has some physical investment on the ground, it has plausible reason to get diplomatically involved in the region.’
The expert on international affairs said Russia and Iran have excellent coordination in Syria in the Astana Process and both countries are also cooperating on Afghanistan through the Moscow Process. “This Russia-Iran nexus is a stabilizing force in the trans-regional space of West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia. Iran being the internal party and Russia being the external factor could bring peace in the region,” he pointed out.
