Trade with Russia.

PAKISTAN'S dependency on imported fuel represents a grave vulnerability to its energy security. This reliance on largely Western-adjacent sources of fuel raise concerns regarding the degree of influence this dependency accords foreign states over Pakistani policy, while compounding Pakistan's exposure to market volatility.

In this context, recent discussions have revolved around Pakistan importing fuel from Russia in order to ensure that domestic demand is met and to manage inflation; this proposition has, however, raised concerns regarding the international sanctions regime applied on Russia and the risks to Pakistan should it decide to address its fuel needs through Russian supplies.

Read: The truth about Pakistan's Russian oil deal prospects

While Article 41 of Chapter VII of the UN Charter empowers the UN Security Council to impose restrictions on economic relations in response to threats to international peace and security, these are unlikely given that Russia, being one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, enjoys the power to veto any binding UNSC resolution presented against it or a trading partner. In the absence of effective UN sanctions, therefore, the anti-Russian coalition has pivoted towards imposing more specific sanctions regimes.

The most burdensome of such sanctions have been levied by the EU on Russian oil imports by sea. These represent a non-trivial proportion of the bloc's trade with Russia; however, the EU continues to import Russian petroleum through pipelines, and has been reluctant to be more aggressive in its sanctions regime - largely because it depends on Russia for 40 per cent of its regional gas requirements - though it has committed to 'phasing in' these sanctions, but in a way that minimises their impact on EU economies.

Concurrently, the US has banned all Russian petroleum imports, while the UK intends to phase out Russian oil imports towards the end of 2022.

None of Pakistan's international law obligations preclude the country from purchasing essentials from Russia.

Financial restrictions have also been enacted on the international exercise of Russian wealth. Russia's central bank assets have been frozen, preventing it from accessing its international reserves estimated at around $630 billion.

A complete transactions ban has also been imposed on four key Russian banks, with the country's access to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications - a global communication...

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