Putin Skips Pakistan Summit on Tight Schedule, Not Gazprom Snub
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Russian President Vladimir Putin skipped a summit with regional counterparts in Pakistan because of his tight schedule, according to Yuri Ushakov, his foreign policy aide.
Putin’s absence wasn’t related to a refusal to grant state-run OAO Gazprom a contract to help build a gas pipeline from Iran to India through Pakistan, Ushakov said. The Kommersant newspaper today reported the president canceled the visit because of the snub to Gazprom, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.