Aleksei Rodionov (diplomat)

Aleksei Alekseyevich Rodionov (Russian: Алексей Алексеевич Родионов; 27 March 1922 – 18 May 2013) was a Soviet diplomat who served as the Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Pakistan from 1971 until 1974 and the Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Canada from 1983 to 1990.

He is notable for his appointment that saw his involvement during the war with India in 1971 when the Soviet Union directed a secret message to President Yahya Khan to come up with a peaceful political settlement for the East Pakistan to avoid going through the conflict with India.[1] The now-declassified Rodionov message ultimately warned Pakistan that "it will [be] embarking [on] a suicidal course if it escalates tensions in the subcontinent."[2]: part-3 

Rodionov reportedly had an acrimonious meeting with President Yahya Khan a week after the Indo-Soviet treaty was signed.[3] During his tenure, the Soviet Union's relations with Yahya Khan had met with demise but he worked towards repairing relations with Bhutto in 1971 when he lobbied in the Soviet Union for the establishment of the Pakistan Steel Mills.[4] On 24 January 1972, he delivered an official invitation to then-President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto In Karachi to pay a state visit to Soviet Union that took place in 1974.[4] In 1974, Rodionov was recalled from his posting as Soviet ambassador to Pakistan in order to take up other duties. Soviet Ambassador Sarvar Azimov had succeeded him who stayed until 1980.[5][6]

  1. ^ Sena, Cāṇakya (1980). The USSR in Asia: An Interperceptional Study of Soviet-Asian Relations, with a Critique of Soviet Role in Afghanistan. Young Asia. p. 231. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  2. ^ Service, British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring (1971). Summary of World Broadcasts: Far East. London, UK: Monitoring Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  3. ^ Jackson, Robert (1975). South Asian Crisis: India — Pakistan — Bangla Desh. Chatto & Windus. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-349-04163-3.
  4. ^ a b News Review on South Asia and Indian Ocean. Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses. 1972. p. 16. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  5. ^ Leaders Soviétiques Contemporains. Mosaic Press. 1986. p. 11. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  6. ^ Daily Report: Soviet Union. The Service. 1990. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 22 December 2016.