Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 03:55pm on 12 Dec 2025,Friday International
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif faced diplomatic embarrassment in Turkmenistan after waiting over 40 minutes for a scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The incident occurred at an event commemorating Turkmenistan's 30th neutrality anniversary, attended by leaders from Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan. RT India footage showed an impatient Sharif waiting with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar before gate-crashing Putin's ongoing meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Sharif reportedly departed after just 10 minutes. The viral video sparked online ridicule, with users calling it a significant diplomatic embarrassment. Turkmenistan, possessing the world's fourth-largest natural gas reserves, declared neutrality in 1995, recently signaling economic diversification beyond gas exports.
