Russian, Turkish envoys avoid each other at Turkmenistan reception
Aircraft shooting incident
By our correspondents
November 25, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The tension between Turkey and Russia in the wake of shooting down of an SU-24 fighter Russian plane over Turkish territory earlier in the day was also felt in reception hosted by ambassador of Turkmenistan Atadjan Movlamov on Tuesday evening when the ambassador of both the countries who were present in it but avoided each other visibly. The reception was arranged by the Turkmenistan envoy for commemorating 24th anniversary of the Independence and 20th anniversary of the neutrality of his country in Marriott Hotel. Russian ambassador Alexey Y. Dedov and Turkey’s envoy Sadik Babur Girgin were present in the reception but they were not seen shaking hands with each other. The guests kept on discussing the incident of shooting of the plane and its aftereffects on the international horizon. Turkish ambassador Sadik Babur Girgin left the rendezvous earlier but the Russian envoy kept sitting on the stage till late. Federal Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada was the chief guest on the occasion who performed the cake cutting ceremony after playing of the anthems of the two countries. Former Secretary General Foreign Affairs Akram Zaki and ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Secretary General Senator Iqbal Zafar Jhagra were among the distinguished guests.It was well attended reception and the guests who were concerned about the developments in the international arena enjoyed the evening thoroughly despite the worry.