LAHORE: Russia supports Pakistan`s peace efforts in Yemen and its role in Afghanistan to bring stability in the region, said Ambassador of the Russian Federation Alexey Yurivich Dedov.

Speaking at a seminar on socioeconomic and cultural relationship between Russia and Pakistan here on Wednesday, the envoy said Pakistan`s efforts to bring peace in Yemen through dialogue were laudable and the Russian Federation fully supported it. Its role for peacein Afghanistan had also been very positive and enjoyed Russian support, he said, hoping that business ties between Pakistan and the Russian Federation would improve under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Earlier, Sardar Aseff Ahmad Ali, former foreign minister, told the audience Pakistan had fought the Russian army on the basis of lies the warm waters theory.

`The National Assembly records show that I have always opposed that theory because it was nothing but manufactured lies. I maintained that Pakistan will one day repent this policy and I stand vindi-cated now. The country was cheated in the name of Islam in Afghanistan and one should hope that the same mistake is not repeated in Yemen. Should that happen, it would be disastrous for the country,` he warned.

Talking about cultural ties between both countries, he said Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Nikolai Gogol were household names in Pakistani literature. No student of literature and human conscience could ignore their contribution to the world of literature and understanding of humans and society. The Russians were alsorunning the biggest Pakistan Studies Centre outside Pakistan, he added.

Habib Ahmed, honorary consul for Russian Federation in Lahore, thought that time for fighting wars for ideological purposes was gone and it was time for business and economic development. Both countries needed to bury the past and work for betterment of their peoples through business and economic development. Both countries had a lot to offer to each other and it was time to explore every avenue, be it economic, social or cultural, he concluded.