Two days after Pakistan’s efforts to raise the Kashmir issue through China in the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) failed, Russia on Friday said it has “no doubts” about India’s approach on Kashmir, which is a strictly bilateral matter between India and Pakistan.
Making this clear, Russian ambassador to New Delhi Nikolay Kudashev said “those having doubts over India’s approach on Kashmir can go there, we don’t have any doubt,” he said on not being invited to visit Jammu & Kashmir.
His assertion comes ahead of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Russia on March 22 and March 23 to attend a meeting of the Russia-Indian-China trilateral, Kudashev said.
On China’s attempt to raise the issue of Kashmir at the Security Council, Kudashev said, “It’s a strictly bilateral matter to discuss between India and Pakistan based on Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration.
Russia is a long-standing ally for India on the abrogation of Article 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir. A after the government abrogated Article 370 in August last year, Russia had become the first UNSC permanent member to come out in support of India as it stated that the move was carried out “within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of India”.