Russian Snub To Pakistan? Moscow Denies Media Reports Claiming It Has Invited Imran Khan To Attend EEF Meet

The Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a clarification regarding an invite to the Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), terming the reports in media as ‘baseless’, Economic Times has reports.

Several Pakistani media houses, citing the Pakistani Foreign Office sources had earlier reported that Khan had been extended an invite to the EEF by the Russian President Vladimir Putin during an ‘informal’ talk at the SCO summit in Bishkek last month.

The statement by the the Russian Foreign Ministry, however, has no mention of Khan attending the summit. “We expect that the President of Mongolia H Battulga, the Prime Minister of India N Modi, the Prime Minister of Malaysia M Mohammad and the Prime Minister of Japan S Abe will arrive in the capital of Primorye”, the statement reads.

Media reports had further talked of a possible meeting between PM Modi and Imran Khan at the EEF summit. However, Khan found no mention in Putin’s remarks at Kremlin last week, nor in any of the EEF’s organisers’ with regards to the summit, the ET report states.

The Eastern Economic Forum is an international summit held each year in Vladivostok, Russia, for the purpose of encouraging foreign investment in the Russian Far East.PM Modi, who will be visiting the summit, has commissioned five state chief ministers and several business missions to the Russian Far East.