MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - Russia could become a mediator in the settlement of the Indian-Pakistani conflict, if necessary, Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee head Konstantin Kosachyov said.
"And if they need our help, I am confident that Russia could both act as a mediator directly in a trilateral format and support efforts aimed at peace as part of the United Nations Security Council," Kosachyov said on his Facebook page, commenting on the exacerbation of the conflict between India and Pakistan.
"Russia itself, of course, is ready to fully facilitate the peaceful settlement of all disputes between both countries given that we are utterly disinterested in a 'victory' of either of the parties to the conflict, because only the side that is guided by the logic 'the worse, the better' can win in the conflict between two nuclear powers. In other words, enemies of both India and Pakistan," he said.
The whole world is now following with extreme concern the severe deterioration of the situation along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan, he said.
"We in Russia perceive both countries as friendly. And the most important thing, we in Russia have, of course, absolutely no interest in further escalation of tensions," Kosachyov said.
The course of events, which resulted in the escalation, still needs to be analyzed in order to be prevented from repeating, he said. In any way, the parties need to exercise restraint and take a break, the lawmaker said.
"It is the case when stopping does not mean losing face. Especially, when a third party, terrorists, is deliberately dragging both countries into the conflict," he said.
Russia has recently faced similar situations in the Middle East, they affected Russian citizens and aircraft, he said.
"And the line of behavior that Russia chose, a firm stance, but deliberately avoiding a confrontation, helped to prevent worst scenarios and convinced that such line is not a sign of weakness and that Russia will always have military response to any purposefully aggressive action. I believe it makes sense for India and Pakistan to look closely at our experience," Kosachyov said.