Miftah Ismail, Pakistan’s finance minister, said on Tuesday that if offered and if Russia would not impose sanctions on Islamabad, Pakistan would buy oil and food at lower prices from Russia. He added, though, that Moscow had not made such an offer as of yet.
Mr Ismail told CNN’s Becky Anderson that Moscow had not even responded to the previous government’s request for cheaper oil from Russia in a letter.
The finance minister also stated that if the economy had allowed it, the current government would have called early elections, but that in the current situation, the government’s first priority was to stabilise the country’s finances.
When asked about the option of buying oil and wheat from Russia, Mr Ismail said the two sides had talked about it, but since Russia is under sanctions, and they have not yet responded to the request sent by the PTI government, there was no movement on this front.
