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The footage of Emmanuel Macron’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow made the rounds of the world, and not just for its diplomatic significance. Many were surprised by the long table on which the two leaders were sitting, and the great distance it created between them.
Two sources close to the French president gave an explanation to Reuters about the leaders sitting on opposite ends of the 4-meter-long table, which was interpreted as Putin’s attempt to convey a message to the international community.
Sources in question say that Macron rejected the Kremlin’s request to do a Russian test for COVID-19 and with a strong reason according to them. “We knew very well that this meant not shaking hands and that long table. “But we could not accept that they ‘steal’ the president’s DNA,” the two officials told the well-known news agency.
They explained that Macron had been given a choice: either to accept a PCR test done by the Russian authorities, or, conversely, to observe a strict social distancing. A Kremlin spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Sources added that Macron underwent a French PCR test before launch and an antigen test performed by his doctor once in Russia.
On Thursday, three days after Macron and Putin met at a distance, the Russian leader received Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The two men shook hands and sat next to each other, separated only by a small coffee table.
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