German envoy dismisses ‘cold-shoulder’ claims to its foreign minister in India

German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann has responded on the recent row over ‘protocol issue’ with the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and said that it is ‘entirely a German problem’. The ambassador explained the incident about the Baerbock’s visit to India to attend the G20 Foreign Minister’s meeting.

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Ackermann explained that the German Foreign Minister’s plane landed before time in Delhi and was asked to stay inside. “We had to transfer her to the conference centre and she was a little early so the German authorities asked her to wait on the plane for a while,” the ambassador told news agency ANI.

According to him, Baerbock had some breakfast and then ‘spontaneously’ decided to leave the plane before the receiving line was formed. “But that was an entire German problem,” Ackermann added.

“I can only say again and again the Indian protocol has done outstanding work this week. It is really, really more than anything I’ve seen in a protocol in my life. And they did that very graciously. Fantastically,” he said.

A social media row broke out after a video clip of German FM Baerbock coming down from the plane purportedly unattended by officials. Social media users started comparing the red carpet reception given to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at New Delhi airport with the German FM.