By The South Asia Times 

SAMARKAND: Russian President  Vladimir Putin on Thursday told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that his country ready to supply gas to Pakistan but Afghan issue" have to be solved first”.

According to Russian media, Putin met with Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand and said Russia can supply gas to Pakistan, with part of infrastructure ready.

“Though that there is an issue of stability in Afghanistan,” Tass news agency quoted Putin as saying. 

"The issue is about pipeline gas supplies from Russia to Pakistan, which is also possible, which means part of infrastructure has already been created, meaning Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. We have to solve the Afghan issue," Putin said when speaking about energy projects.

"Of course, there are problems connected with political stability, but having in mind our mutually good relations with the Afghan people, I hope this problem can also be solved, I mean Pakistan’s influence on the situation in the country," he added.

Meanwhile, Sharif while appreciating Russia’s constructive role in Afghanistan, said that both Pakistan and Russia had vital stakes in a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. 

“It was essential to intensify the pace of international engagement on Afghanistan and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to support all regional and international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan,” Sharif said, according to an official statement issued from Islamabad. 

Pakistan PM also thanked President Putin for Russia’s expression of solidarity and support for the people affected by the massive floods in Pakistan. The Prime Minister also shared details of the devastating impact of this climate induced calamity.  

The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to work closely with Russia to further expand and strengthen cooperation between the two countries across all areas of mutual benefit including food security, trade & investment, energy, defence and security.

 It was agreed to convene the next meeting of the Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) in Islamabad at an early date.