Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting was scheduled to take place along with an event marking the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan’s permanent neutrality. A video of the incident shared by RT India circulated widely on social media, showing Pakistan PM Sharif promoted a plethora of memes and comments teasing Sharif’s diplomatic gaffe.
What happened at the meeting?
Sharif’s own bilateral meeting with Putin was delayed. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, was waiting with the Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, in an adjacent room for about 40 minutes. Sharif was getting highly impatient when he reportedly walked straight into a closed-door session between Putin and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He remained inside for roughly 10 minutes before quietly exiting.
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Recurring diplomatic awkwardness
This is not the first time such an incident has happened to Sharif, which drew public attention. He was mocked online for awkward handshakes and being out of sync during photo opportunities with other world leaders, including Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin, earlier this year at the SCO Summit. These moments have led to a building of perception on social media that Sharif often stumbles for visibility at the global stage.
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The meeting where the incident occurred was part of a forum aimed at celebrating Turkmenistan’s officially recognised permanent neutrality. It is a status unanimously approved by the United Nations General Assembly on December 12, 1995. This commitment involves staying out of military alliances and restricting involvement in disputes except in cases of self-defence.
