New Delhi: Russia on Friday maintained its consistent position on the Kashmir issue at UN and informed Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Querishi that it did not support open or formal UN Security Council (UNSC) session on the matter contrary to reports that Moscow backed Beijing on the issue.Senior Russian diplomat told media at UN following Friday’s closed door session that Kashmir issue is bilateral in nature between India and Pakistan.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov clearly told Qureshi during their telephone call on Wednesday that it does not favour open UNSC session on Kashmir and the Russian mission in New York went along with closed session contrary to some reports that Moscow supported Beijing and asked for an open session, informed sources told ET. These reports are not incorrect, sources stressed.“Public message of Russia was consistent from beginning. Also Russia supported no statement on the Kashmir issue at the UN,” sources said.“On August 14, at the initiative of the Pakistani side, a telephone conversation took place between Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and Mr. S.M. Qureshi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. During the conversation, the situation in South Asia was discussed amid the worsening relations between Pakistan and India after the decision made by New Delhi to change the legal status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Russian side emphasized the need for de-escalation of tensions, and that there is no alternative to resolve differences between Pakistan and India except bilaterally through political and diplomatic means. Representatives of Russia to the UN adhere to this consistent position,” according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement issued in Moscow.Sources, referring to the Russian statement, explained that Moscow has made it clear that the matter is bilateral in nature and UN has no role in it. Delhi and Moscow are remain engaged on the issue and the matter will be on the agenda when PM Narendra Modi travels to Vladivostok for Eastern Economic Forum and annual summit between September 4-6. Last Saturday Russia became the first P-5 country to describe India's move on Kashmir as internal and called for resolution under the Shimla Agreement of 1972. Traditionally Moscow supported India’s position on Kashmir and erstwhile Soviet Union has vetoed number of resolutions on Kashmir in UNSC during the Cold War period.