Pakistan wants to strengthen ties with Russia: Sharif

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the country wants to strengthen bilateral ties with Russia, the media reported on Monday.

Sharif has written a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin to respond and thanked him for his congratulatory message.

Sharif said Pakistan would like to support Russia on the issue of Afghanistan. Last week, Putin had written a letter congratulating Sharif for being elected as the prime minister.

He also expressed the desire to deepen cooperation between the two countries.

Foreign Office officials said resetting ties with Russia was a decision taken by the state long time back, keeping in view the changing regional and international alignments, citing the letter the News International reported.