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RT India Deletes Post Claiming PM Shehbaz ‘Waited’ to Meet Putin
RT India has deleted a post claiming PM Shehbaz Sharif waited to meet President Vladimir Putin, admitting it may have misrepresented events during the Ashgabat summit.
MH
by Muhammad Hashir
2025-12-13
RT India Deletes Post Claiming PM Shehbaz ‘Waited’ to Meet Putin

RT India has removed a social media post from platform X that claimed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was “waiting to meet” Russian President Vladimir Putin, acknowledging that the post “may have been a misrepresentation of events,” the development emerged on Saturday.

The clarification came as Prime Minister Shehbaz was in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, to attend an international forum, where he held meetings with several world leaders on the sidelines of the gathering. On Friday, the premier met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Sharing a video on X, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said the prime minister had “great interactions with world leaders,” adding that Pakistan was “shining at the global stage.” The video showed PM Shehbaz and President Putin shaking hands in what appeared to be a hallway at the venue. The minister described the engagements with Putin, Erdogan and Pezeshkian as “warm and cordial exchanges.”

Prime Minister’s Spokesperson for Foreign Media Mosharraf Zaidi also shared the same video, stating that PM Shehbaz had productive meetings with his counterparts from participating countries. He noted that the “customary warmth” in Pakistan’s relations with key global partners was evident throughout the engagements.

The video was also shared by the Russian Embassy in Pakistan, reinforcing the official narrative of cordial interactions between the Pakistani and Russian leadership.

However, RT India — the newest branch of Russia’s state-funded global media network — appeared to have earlier posted a different video, which has since been deleted. In a clarification issued late Friday night, RT India said it had removed the post claiming that Prime Minister Sharif was waiting to meet President Putin at the Peace and Trust forum in Turkmenistan, acknowledging that the content may have misrepresented what actually transpired.

According to Indian media reports, the original RT India post alleged that PM Shehbaz waited for President Putin for 40 minutes before “growing tired and gate-crashing” the Russian leader’s meeting with President Erdogan, and that he left shortly afterwards. These claims were quoted by outlets including the Times of India and Hindustan Times.

Meanwhile, Russia’s RIA news agency reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz later joined the talks between Presidents Erdogan and Putin, which lasted around 40 minutes behind closed doors, suggesting a coordinated diplomatic interaction rather than the scenario described in the deleted post.

RT India was launched last week by President Vladimir Putin during his visit to New Delhi, marking an expansion of Russia’s international media presence in South Asia.
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ShehbazSharif

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