Ivanov takes the back door

NEW DELHI, MAY 3. Protocol officials today found themselves in a piquant position as the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr. Igor Ivanov, caught them unawares by getting down from the rear of his special aircraft.

The Foreign Secretary, Ms. Chokila Iyer, and other officials, who waited near the red carpet unrolled near the front portion of the aircraft from where VIPs normally disembark, had to rush to the rear to receive him.

Mr. Ivanov's visit comes within seven months of Russian president Vladimir Putin's India visit last October, when the two countries signed a declaration on strategic partnership to raise bilateral ties to a qualitatively new and higher level.

- PTI

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