Sartaj’s Heart of Asia speech very constructive, friendly: Russia

AMRITSAR: Russia on Sunday lauded Pakistan's stance at the Heart of Asia conference.

Addressing the Heart of Asia conference in Amritsar today, Russian envoy Zamir Kabulov said that Sartaj Aziz's speech at the conference was friendly and constructive. He said it is wrong to criticize Pakistan.

The Russian envoy said that Afghanistan is pivot of Heart of Asia conference and the agenda of the conference has not been hijacked.

He said being friends and supporters we should avoid the blame game and work together.

Earlier, Sartaj Aziz said concerted action is needed for peaceful resolution of regional conflicts and “blame games” will not help toward achieving peace.

Aziz said the peaceful resolution of unresolved conflicts would boost regional cooperation and communication.

Eluding to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s allegations that Pakistan was giving “sanctuary” to terrorists, Aziz said concerted policy and action, not blame games, are needed to establish peace in Afghanistan. Such blame games will not bring peace to Afghanistan, he said.

Aziz said that Pakistan's attendance at the Conference, despite escalating tensions with India, shows Pakistan's resolve to establish peace in Afghanistan and the overall region.

On Sunday, Indian Prime Minister and Afghan President jointly inaugurated the two-day summit being attended by around 40 foreign ministers and dignitaries of 14 participating countries in the Indian city of Amritsar.

The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process was launched in 2011 with the objective to boost economic and security cooperation.

Its members include Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the United Arab Emirates.

The initiative has the support of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Finland, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Britain and the United States.