By Anush Mkrtchian
TIANJIN, China (Azatutyun) — Pakistan has agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia after decades of full and unconditional support shown for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The foreign ministers of the two states signed a relevant communique at the weekend on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry described the development as a “historic step forward.”
“The two leaders reaffirmed their desire to work closely with each other at bilateral and multilateral fora, to achieve their shared objectives of peace, progress, and prosperity for the peoples of their two countries,” it said in a statement.
Pakistan had for decades refused to not only establish diplomatic relations but also formally recognize Armenia, accusing it of military aggression against Azerbaijan. Islamabad underscored its strong support for Baku during the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in October 2020 that Pakistani special forces are taking part in fighting in and around Karabakh on the Azerbaijani side. Pakistani officials denied that.
Military ties between the two Muslim nations continued to deepen after the six-week war. Pakistani troops regularly take part in joint military exercises held by Azerbaijan and Turkey. The Azerbaijani military is due receive dozens of Pakistani-manufactured warplanes in the coming years.
