The Pakistan Foreign Office has sought an explanation from Russia after its Senator Igor Morozov reportedly claimed that Islamabad and Ukraine recently held talks for developing nuclear weapons.

“We are surprised by such an unfounded and baseless statement,” Dawn news quoted a statement issued from the office of FO spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed as saying.

A Russian state news agency report said that “Ukrainian specialists went to Pakistan and received a delegation from there to discuss technologies and know-how for creating nuclear weapons”.

Morozov reportedly made the allegations during a press conference that was “part of the Ukrainian dossier special project”, the report added.

“He said that it is not a secret that Ukraine can create a ‘dirty bomb’ but questioned who are invested in the project,” the report claims.

Reacting to the allegations, Islamabad said the Senator’s reported statement was “without any rationale and entirely inconsistent” with the spirit of Pakistan-Russia relations, Dawn reported.

“We are seeking clarification on this from Moscow,” the statement added.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline.)