According to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry the two ministers had a useful exchange on bilateral matters and growing cooperation in diverse areas. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also renewed the invitation to Sergey Lavrov to visit Pakistan.
During conversation the two foreign ministers also discussed the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Previously a high-ranking Russian delegation had visited Pakistan in January for talks with Pakistani officials on oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade deal for a long-term basis and the $3 billion Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) project.
The meetings resulted in a deal between Islamabad and Moscow under which Russia would supply 100,000 tones of crude to Pakistan, and the payment would be done using the Chinese yuan. Both the shipments of the crude oil were carried out in June, and refined by PRL, National Refinery Limited, Pak Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) and Byco Petroleum.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed the hope that all parties involved in the Black Sea Grain Initiative would engage in constructive dialogue to revive the initiative.
Serving the Humanitarian Purpose
Prior to the annulment of the deal on July 18, Moscow permitted Ukrainian grain to reach foreign shores via the ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi under the Black Sea grain deal.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Black Sea Grain Initiative, rolled back by Moscow over the West's failure to fulfill their share of commitments last week, was used by the US and its European allies to "enrich" their businesses instead of serving "its humanitarian purpose".
The Russian leader called out the Kiev leaders and NATO partners in an article shared by the Kremlin, where it was mentioned that while the US and European nations labeled the grain deal as a "goodwill gesture" to low-income countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the stocks never reached them as millions of tones of grains from Ukraine were diverted to rich Western states.
From Strength to Strength
During the recent conversation between Moscow and Islamabad, Pakistan's Foreign Minister informed his Russian counterpart of his discussions on the grain deal with the Foreign Ministers of Ukraine and Turkiye, the US Secretary of State and the EU High Representative.
Foreign Minister Lavrov shared Russia’s perspective on the issue and the two ministers agreed to remain in close contact on the matter.
Earlier this month, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Zardari Bhutto reiterated calls to have stronger relations with Russia, during his trip to Tokyo.
"Pakistan-Russia relations are on a positive trajectory and I'm hoping they go from strength to strength," Bilawal, had told the Japanese broadcaster NHK.
This isn't the first time Bilawal has spoken about having strong diplomatic relations with Russia. In June, he had told a foreign media outlet that Islamabad wanted "deep meaningful ties" with Moscow.