The United States and Russia may be geographically alien to South Asia, but as global superpowers and omnipresent actors in world affairs over the past century, they have managed to inextricably involve themselves in regional South Asian politics. The relationship that these two countries have had with both India and Pakistan has morphed drastically over the course of the past few decades with the routinely-changing global political outlook: the Cold War, nuclear proliferation, and the war on terror are all themes that play into the ambitions and interests of the United States and Russia in South Asia. And in the midst of all this lies their vision for a solution to Kashmir. The approaches taken by the two superpowers to this issue provide unique insight into the tools and terms formally and frequently invoked in the realm of diplomacy, and we will explore in this episode aspects such as bilateralism and the prospect of mediation. Ambassador Jalil Jilani joins us once again on the podcast to illuminate our analysis with his experiences and first-hand insights.

Music by Pandit Bhajan Sopori. Taken with permission from Pandit Bhajan Sopori Official on YouTube.

Logo designed by Sara Zubair.