Pakistan PM Sharif Gate-Crashes Putin–Erdogan Meeting After Waiting For 40 Minutes | Watch

Last Updated:December 12, 2025, 19:47 IST

After waiting for more than 40 minutes, an impatient Shehbaz Sharif gate-crashed a meeting between Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif waits before a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. (Reuters)

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was left red-faced at an international forum in Turkmenistan as he was made to wait for 40 minutes for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The event was held in honour of the 30th anniversary of the former Soviet nation’s declaration of neutrality, and leaders from Russia, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan were invited on the occasion. A video by RT India showed Sharif waiting impatiently in an adjacent room, ahead of scheduled talks with Putin.

After waiting with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar for nearly 40 minutes, Sharif decided to gate-crash the venue where Putin was holding talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a quick interaction. He reportedly departed the venue after 10 minutes.

The viral video has drawn ridicule online, with social media users framing it as a notable diplomatic embarrassment. “Shehbaz Sharif waited 40 minutes just to get a 10-minute cameo in Putin and Erdogan’s chat, then left like a guy who joined the wrong Zoom call. Bro literally pulled a “sorry wrong table" at the geopolitical cafeteria," a user said.

“Gate-crashing at global level… Pakistan’s foreign policy just got a new definition," another individual wrote on X. A third person commented, “Putin does not want to waste his time on beggars."

The event marked a milestone for Turkmenistan, the country with the world’s fourth-largest natural gas reserves. Turkmenistan declared itself officially neutral in 1995 under its first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, who spurned both Western and Russian influence.

Until his death in 2006, Niyazov maintained tight control over politics, a policy of isolationism from the outside world, and an economy heavily based on natural gas exports. Since succeeding his father as president in 2022, Serdar Berdymukhamedov has signalled some opening.

Turkmenistan also says it wants to join the World Trade Organisation and diversify the economy away from gas exports, most of which are to China.

(with inputs from Reuters)

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