Russia calls for restraint from India, Pak amid escalating tensions

Russia on Wednesday called on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint amid growing tension between the two countries.

Press Secretary of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow is following the development of events closely. He also stated that Moscow is concerned about the aggravation of relations between India and Pakistan.

"We are extremely concerned about the news coming in, we are very closely monitoring the situation and, of course, we urge all parties to show restraint," said the Kremlin spokesman.

The Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in connection with growing tensions in India-Pakistan relations expressed serious concern about the aggravation of the situation along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan.

"We call on both sides to show restraint and step up efforts to resolve existing problems by political and diplomatic means. We are ready to further assist in strengthening the counter-terrorism potential of New Delhi and Islamabad," stated the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

The tension between New Delhi and Islamabad escalated following the Pulwama terror attack that claimed lives of at least 40 CRPF personnel on February 14.

Russia had condemned the attack and denounced terrorism in all its forms and manifestation.

Embassy of the Russian Federation tweeted, "We denounce terrorism in all its forms & reiterate the need to combat these inhuman acts with a decisive and collective response without any double standards. We express condolences to families of the deceased & wish a speedy recovery to injured."

Meanwhile, the tension between the two neighbouring nations is escalating as Indian Air Force on Tuesday carried out strikes at a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror training camp in Balakot, in which a large number of terrorists were killed.

Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity on Wednesday with Pakistani jets violating the Indian air space and dropping some bombs in Rajouri sector after which one of their fighters was shot down.

India said it foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force this morning to carry out strikes in Jammu and Kashmir by shooting down an F-16 fighter plane while losing its own MiG-21 jet after which a pilot was "missing in action".