By Ananta Shesha On the occasion of Russia Day on June 12 2024, Moscow’s ambassador to Pakistan Albert Pavlovich Khorev announced that the bilateral trade turnover between Moscow and Islamabad surpassed $1bn in 2023. Khorev, who was appointed by the Russian President as envoy to Islamabad in November 2023, has consistently portrayed the bilateral relationship in optimistic terms; however, no major progress since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine can be observed. Lacklustre energy interaction Russia was almost immediately able to secure India and China as alternative markets for its hydroca…