ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about gas imports for Pakistan and he had “promised” to look into the issue.

Sharif’s statement in an interview to Bloomberg comes as the South Asian country suffers soaring inflation triggered by rising fuel prices at a time when it faces worst-ever floods.

Last week, PM Sharif held a bilateral meeting with Putin while attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. After the meeting, Pakistan’s defense minister said Russia had expressed willingness to provide wheat and gas to Pakistan.

“I have spoken to Russian President Putin about the availability of gas and he has promised me that he will most definitely will look into this,” Sharif said in an interview to Bloomberg.

Sharif said the two sides were yet to commit to a deal on the supply of gas.

He also said Islamabad was looking to import wheat from Russia due to the devastation caused to wheat crops across the country by floods triggered by unusually intense monsoon rains this season. Experts warn of a looming food crisis due to the damage.

“We are also talking to them [Russia] to buy wheat because there was shortage of wheat last year and this year, the land is not going to be ready for wheat sowing,” Sharif said.

In May, former Prime Minister Imran Khan criticized the Sharif government for not pursuing his administration’s “deal” with Russia for the procurement of oil at 30 percent cheaper rates.

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has rejected Khan’s claims, saying Russia never responded to Pakistan’s request for cheaper oil and there was no deal. He also said it was unlikely Islamabad could import oil from Russia given sanctions on importing fuel from the country.