The Hindu : Putin invites PM, Bush to dinner

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 01, 2003

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Putin invites PM, Bush to dinner

By Amit Baruah

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the U.S. President, George W. Bush, at a dinner in Peterhof Palace outside St. Petersburg on Saturday.

ST. PETERSBURG May 31. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the U.S. President, George W. Bush, were invited to a "small dinner'' hosted by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, tonight. Unlike the "gala dinner'' thrown by Mr. Putin on board the "Silver Whisper'' cruise liner on Friday, this dinner was a "restricted'' affair that offered space for "chit-chat'' of a social nature. The "small dinner'' point was made by the Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, even as there will not be any bilateral meeting between Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. Bush either here or on the sidelines of the G-8 summit in Evian, France. While Mr. Vajpayee has met all the other leaders of the "permanent five'' at the U.N. Security Council, a meeting with Mr. Bush has proved elusive.

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