Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Speaks to Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar by Telephone

PRESS RELEASE

On November 28, a telephone conversation between Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Hina Rabbani Khar, took place at the Pakistani side's initiative.

The Pakistani minister informed Lavrov of the consequences of a NATO/ISAF air strike at Pakistani military outposts on the border with Afghanistan. Khar also described the retaliatory measures that have been taken by Islamabad over this incident which has caused a wave of public outrage in the country.

Lavrov expressed sympathy on the loss of lives among the Pakistani military resulting from the air strikes and noted that leaders of NATO/ISAF in Afghanistan must carry out a thorough investigation of the incident. The head of the Russian foreign affairs agency expressed his understanding of the stand taken by the Pakistani leadership and stressed the inadmissibility of violation of the sovereignty of states, including when planning and carrying out counterterrorism operations.

November 28, 2011