Islamabad: While expressing Islamabad's support for the revival of the Black Sea grain initiative, Pakistan's foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday denied that his nation had given any weapons to Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia.

The declaration was made by Bhutto-Zardari and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, who arrived in Islamabad earlier today for a two-day visit. 

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of last year, Pakistan has not condemned Russia, despite expressing concern over the conflict and calling on China and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to mediate.

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As Pakistan started importing oil from Russia earlier this year, relations between Islamabad and Moscow are improving at the time of Kuleba's visit. 
The Islamabad government was allegedly accused of arming Ukraine in its conflict with Russia in recent media reports, which the Pakistani minister called unfounded.

In a joint press conference, he stated, "Since the war started, we have not concluded any agreement for defense supplies to Ukraine, keeping in mind our principled, consistent, and nonpartisan position."

The assertion was also supported by the foreign minister of Ukraine.

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Kuleba told reporters, "I can confirm that there are no contracts or intergovernmental agreements between Ukraine and Pakistan in this area," adding that the two nations' military and technical cooperation dates back to the agreements signed in 1996, which enabled Pakistan to produce high-quality tanks with the assistance of the Ukrainian defense industry.

When asked about Russia's decision to cancel the Black Sea grain agreement, the Pakistani minister praised the UN, Turkey, and Ukraine for their positive initiative. He continued by saying that the deal's restoration would benefit many developing nations around the world as well as Russia.

The agreement, which permitted Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea, was set to expire at the end of Monday after Russia announced it would stop taking part.
The agreement, mediated by the UN and Turkey in July of last year, sought to ease a global food crisis by allowing the export of grain from Ukraine that had been prevented by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In order to address Pakistan's concerns and our desire for the Black Sea grain initiative to be reinstated, Bilawal-Bhutto further stated, "I will be contacting the United Nations Secretary General, as well as my counterparts in Turkey and Russia.

He said he expressed Pakistan's deep concern about the ongoing conflict to his Ukrainian counterpart and expressed condolences for the loss of priceless lives and the tremendous suffering endured by people worldwide.

"We have a vested interest in promoting peace and reconciliation and hope for a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy," the speaker continued.

Kuleba thanked Pakistan in his remarks for providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine at a time when his nation most needed it.

"We know Pakistan supports our territorial integrity, and the rest is in the hands of the Pakistani government to choose appropriate forms of finding a way to support a country that is fighting for its sovereignty and territorial integrity against a much stronger neighbor," he said.

The Ukrainian minister claimed that during delegation-level discussions, he had informed his Pakistani counterpart of the opportunities presented by his nation in the area of digitizing public services to make it easier for citizens to interact with the government.

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He said Pakistan should publicly state its support for the continuation of the Black Sea grain agreement because Ukraine would also appreciate it.

He continued, "I was glad to hear from Bhutto-Zardari that Pakistan will discuss this matter with the European Union and the United Nations as the facilitators of the Black Sea grain initiative