By IANS
New Delhi :The government Thursday sought to play down External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s inability to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his Moscow visit last week.
After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday asked the government to explain the “rebuff” to Mukherjee, an external affairs ministry spokesperson said in a statement late night that India had been informed that meetings with other Russian leaders were unavailable “this time”.
Mukherjee had visited Moscow Oct 11-12 to co-chair the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission, along with his Russian counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov. The spokesperson said that both the ministers had “detailed discussions”.
Admitting “on occasion, other meetings are held during such visits in both India and Russia”, the spokesperson added: “However, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained to us that this was not possible this time.
“This does not in any way affect the friendly ties between the two countries,” he stressed.
Taking note of “exaggerated comments and analysis” in the media, the spokesperson said they were “without foundation and see to draw inferences that are completely unwarranted”.