The Russian cold-shoulder

The Foreign Secretary got a taste of the Russian cold-shoulder a few days back when he was kept waiting by the Russian Ambassador along with others at a think-tank meeting. The occasion was an Observer Research Foundation (ORF)-organised meeting ahead of the BRIC Summit to be held next month in Moscow. And while India was represented by Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon,China was represented by its Ambassador Zhang Yan and Brazil by its Deputy Chief of Mission. The ORF organisers kept saying that they were waiting for the Russian envoy,even as the proceedings went on. Even after the speeches by Menon,Zhang were over,there was no trace of Russian Ambassador Vladimir Trubnikov. One was heard saying: “He must have had some meeting at the Defence Ministry,that is the only reason to have kept him away from such a do.”