MOSCOW: Uncertainty prevailed over whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif will meet in Ufa in Russia on the sidelines of SCO Summit next week, with the External Affairs Ministry today refusing to confirm or deny the possibility.
“The schedule (of Modi’s bilateral meetings) is yet to be finalised. So I cannot say anything on this,” said External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup when asked at a press conference about the possibility of the meeting.
Modi will be in Ufa from July 8 to 10 to attend BRICS and SCO Summits. Sharif is also expected to attend SCO Summit.
Both India and Pakistan are Observers in the six-nation SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) which comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Pakistan yesterday indicated the possibility of a meeting between the two Prime Ministers, saying such meetings in a multilateral setting are a “normal feature”.
“No side has contacted the other for a meeting so far. However, as you would be aware, in any multilateral setting, meetings among Heads of State and Government is a normal feature,” Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said when asked about the possibility of a Sharif-Modi meeting in Russia.
India and Pakistan were involved in a war of words recently with leaders from both sides exchanging sharp comments after Modi’s critical remarks about Pakistan during his Dhaka visit last month and in the wake of India’s military action in Myanmar.
In the midst of that, Modi had called up Sharif last month to greet him on the holy month of Ramzan.
