Although there has been no official statement yet by the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Indian media on Saturday went on to claim that Moscow has lent support to its move of revoking the special status of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir valley.
“Moscow expects that Pakistan and India will not allow aggravation of the situation in the region due to the change by New Delhi in the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir,” various Indian media outlets claimed quoting the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We proceed from the fact that the changes associated with the change in the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir are within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of India,” Indian media reports quoted the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry as having said.
“We hope that the differences between them will be resolved by political and diplomatic means on a bilateral basis in accordance with the provisions of the Shimla Agreement of 1972 and the Lahore Declaration of 1999,” the reports add.
Interestingly, no such statement is available on the official website of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry or on its twitter handle.
Tensions are soaring between Pakistan and India after New Delhi on Monday revoked Article 370, which gave special status to held Kashmir and moved a separate bill to split the state into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Pakistan believes the move, other than snatching away occupied Kashmir’s autonomy, can pave way for a Muslim genocide as it allows people from all over India to settle in the disputed territory which could result in a massive demographic shift.