Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymytro Koleba had a tough row to hoe on his visit to Pakistan, as he failed to get its support in its ongoing conflict with Ukraine. Pakistan has so far resisted taking sides, and used this visit to dispel the rumours that it had sold Ukraine any arms. However, Mr Koleba would not look on this visit as a waste of time, for he managed to raise one issue where Pakistan has a direct interest, grain shipments from the Black Sea. Admittedly, Pakistan looks to the import of Russian wheat rather than Ukrainian to overcome its shortage, but the Russian pullout from the UN-brokered deal permitting Ukrainian exports of wheat from Odessa has raised the spectre of a spike in the international price of wheat, which would hurt not just Pakistan, but a whole slew of food-deficient Third World countries, and further raise the possibility of mass starvation. Therefore, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was ready enough to agree to Mr Kolba’s request for help in reviving the grain export deal, by raising the issue with his Russian and Turkish counterparts, as well as the UN Secretary General. One aspect that was not discussed was the fact that Pakistan had begun to import crude oil from Russia at an undisclosed discount. This is perhaps the main factor maintaining Pakistani neutrality in a conflict which it wants to see ended. It should also be remembered that Pakistan has deep ties with China, which is supporting Russia in the current conflict, thus maintaining neutrality is not just a matter of pleasing Russia, which is after all a relatively recent ally, but of keeping on the right side of China. Not picking sides between Russia and Ukraine also means that Pakistan stays out of the US-China rivalry.
The degree to which Pakistan has committed to Ukraine is probably as far as it can go. While it has expressed concern about the loss of lives in the conflict, Pakistan needs to go on following its national interests. There seems no reason what it should jeopardize its relations with Russia, and the tangible benefits they bring, for the will o’the-wisp of support for Ukraine. Mr not only didn’t bring enough, he brought nothing to the table. It may not have been the most productive of visits, but it should have helped bring clarity to those calling the shots.
