Putin snubs Pakistan PM; Sharif waits for 40 mins at Ashgabat

In a major diplomatic embarrassment for Pakistan, its PM Shahbaz Sharif was kept waiting for 40 mins by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two were supposed to meet on the sidelines of a conference in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat.

Footage released by Russia Today showed that Sharif was kept waiting for 40 mins. Later Sharif gatecrashed a meeting between Putin and the Turkish President and left after 10 mins. This was undiplomatic at the level of leaders.

This is not the first time that Sharif had faced embarrassment during his meeting with Putin. Twice in the past, headphone of Sharif wasn’t working when Putin met him.


Last week at the India-Russia annual summit, the issue of cross-border terror was discussed threadbare and the two sides decided to join hands to counter the menace through various means.