Indulging in some high-voltage diplomacy, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has had a hectic schedule, meeting the world's most powerful leaders ever since he landed in St Petersburg for the tercentenary celebrations of this city as a special invitee of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mingling with leaders of P-5 and other G-8 nations, former Soviet Republics now comprising the Commonwealth of Independent States and those from a number of European nations, Vajpayee was the lone invitee outside any of these groupings.
After the formal welcome by the host at the monument to Peter the Great -- The Bronze Horseman, Vajpayee attended Putin's dinner for all the head of states on the fourth deck aboard the 7-deck, 6-star cruise liner Silver Whisper, considered one of Europe's best passenger ships.
The dinner, attended by world's powerful leaders including French President Jacques Chirac, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Gerhard Schroeder and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, went well past mid-night.
After dinner, Vajpayee had a bilateral meeting with Putin followed by Chirac, which went upto 0400 IST on Saturday.
After a brief rest, the prime minister attended an early meeting with Hu in what was billed as a crucial engagement between the top leaderships of India and China in years and coming ahead of Vajpayee's visit to China next month.
He had another bilateral meeting with Blair and after lunch participated in the festivities in connection with the city's tercentenary celebrations.
The day will be rounded up with a formal dinner to be hosted by Putin.
