ISLAMABAD: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is likely to arrive on a two-day official visit to Pakistan this week for seeking possible support for President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace formula for ending war with Russia.

Diplomatic sources told Business Recorder that Foreign Minister Kuleba is also expected to exchange views with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on expanding cooperation in various fields of mutual interest, besides seeking support for the “Ukrainian Peace Formula” for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

President Zelensky’s “peace formula” calls for the withdrawal of Russian forces, restoration of Ukraine’s sovereign territory, “Russian war” reparations, and postwar security guarantees for Ukraine. Russia has already rejected the “peace formula”.

However, Pakistan has adopted a principled “neutral” position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling the two sides for an early resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

This stance was also conveyed to his Ukrainian counterpart Kuleba by Bilawal during their meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany in February this year.

Kuleba’s trip is also taking place amid reports that Ukraine also intends to discuss defence procurement from Pakistan during his talks with Pakistani officials during his two-day talks.

A senior government official, however, rejected certain media reports as “untrue” that Pakistan is selling weapons to Ukraine.

About the impact of the conflict on Pakistan, the official said that like every other country, Pakistan is equally affected by the conflict and it wants a peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian issue. The official further stated that Pakistan’s trade with Ukraine before the conflict was $700 million which has now reduced to $40 million to $45 million.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023