Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa reached Russia on Tuesday for an official visit, a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

During the course of the visit, Gen Bajwa met Colonel General Oleg Salyukov, Commander Russian Federation Ground Forces at Kremlin Palace.

Upon his arrival at the palace, Gen Bajwa was presented guard of honour. National anthems of both countries were played and the COAS laid a wreath at the tomb of an unknown soldier.

Gen Salyukov acknowledged the achievements of Pakistan Army in the fight against terrorism and it's contributions towards regional peace and stability.

The Russian Ground Forces Commander said that Pakistan is a geo-strategically important country and expressed Russia's keenness to expand its existing bilateral military-to-military cooperation.

Gen Bajwa thanked Gen Salyukov and said that Pakistan reciprocates Russia's desire for enhanced bilateral military engagements.

The COAS acknowledged that Russia recently played a positive role to help resolve complex situations in the region.

He assured that Pakistan will continue to play its part to keep conflicts away from the region and seek approaches which bring regional convergences into play rather than divergences.