No passes: Delegates from Russia lose access

PANAJI: A major gaffe by the organisation committe meant that many members of the Russian

delegation

did not obtain access to the venue of the Brics Summit at Taj Exotica. Some of the members told TOI that while 350 delegates from

Russia

were to participate in the event, only 80 accreditation

passes

were made available to the delegation.

Lack of security and event

clearance

forced the chief executive officer of Russian firm Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, to reschedule and hold a briefing outside the official venue at Benaulim. Russian sources said that though they had been waiting outside the venue for two days, the delegation failed to gain access to the resort.

“Our delegation is facing big problems with regards to entry to the venue, and pretty much only the senior delegates have access. The delegation size was just slashed,” a business delegate from the Russian side said.

The Russians, however, bore the inconvenience sportingly. TOI made several attempts to contact the ministry of external affairs, but received no response.

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