Pahalgam attack aftermath: Russia backs Simla Agreement, stresses bilateralism amid rising India-Pakistan tensions

NEW DELHI: Amid Pakistan’s threat to suspend the 1972 Simla Agreement with India, Russia has backed the agreement saying the 2 countries should settle their disagreements bilaterally in line with the same and also the 1999 Lahore Declaration. This was mentioned in a Russian readout of a conversation that foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar about the Pahalgam terrorist attack on Saturday.

Jaishankar reiterated in his talks with Lavrov that perpetrators, planners and backers of the Pahalgam must be brought to justice. India sees Pakistan as having done little to respect the principles enshrined in the Simla Agreement but acknowledges its importance in underlining the significance of bilateralism in addressing disputes. The agreement has also been important for upholding the sanctity of the LoC, which resulted from the ceasefire of December 1971, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and use of peaceful means for resolving disputes. Pakistan has so far not issued a notification for putting the agreement in abeyance.

According to Russian authorities, Lavrov and Jaishankar discussed issues related to Russia-India cooperation and the “aggravation of India-Pakistan relations following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam”. The conversation followed President Vladimir Putin’s message to PM Narendra Modi last week that Russia expects the organisers and perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack to face “deserved punishment”.

“Sergey Lavrov called for settling disagreements between New Delhi and Islamabad on a bilateral basis by political and diplomatic means per the provisions of the Simla Agreement of 1972 and the Lahore Declaration of 1999. The ministers also discussed the schedule of upcoming contacts at the highest levels,’’ said the readout.

Both sides also discussed Putin’s likely visit to India later this year for the annual India-Russia summit. Modi had visited Moscow for the summit last year and now it’s Putin’s turn to participate in the same meeting here. Modi may also have another meeting with Putin in China this year if he decides to participate in the upcoming SCO summit.

The Russian side is currently working on a proposed meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia for the Ukraine peace talks. Russia had earlier also invited PM Modi and other BRICS leaders to participate in the Victory Day celebrations on May 9. India initially wanted defence minister Rajnath Singh to go but he has had to cancel his visit because of the ongoing tensions with Pakistan and his deputy Sanjay Seth is now likely to represent India.