KARACHI -- Russia is increasing diplomatic efforts to revive ties with Pakistan through a $2.5 billion natural gas pipeline while offering to bolster anti-terrorism support. Analysts see the moves as a bid to acquire a new energy market to offset declining business from the West and to increase regional heft as the U.S. deepens ties with India and leaves Afghanistan.
On July 15, a Russian delegation signed a pact in Islamabad stipulating the terms for the PakStream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) project, formerly known as the North-South Gas Pipeline Project.
