Russia on Friday stated French President Emmanuel Macron become made to take a seat down at an relatively lengthy desk for his talks with Vladimir Putin due to the fact he refused to take a Kremlin-achieved Covid take a look at.
The leaders sat at contrary ends of an surprisingly lengthy desk withinside the Kremlin on Monday, while Macron got here to Moscow with a assignment to defuse fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The desk drew a lot ridicule online, and raised greater eyebrows while Putin sat at a tiny desk with the Kazakh president, a near ally, 3 days later.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peksov stated the choice to difficulty Macron to the massive desk become taken after the French chief refused to take a Covid take a look at achieved with the aid of using the Kremlin’s medics.
“Talks with a few are being held at a protracted desk, the distance (throughout the desk) is set six meters,” Peskov stated.
“It is connected to the reality that a few observe their very own rules, they do not cooperate with the host side,” he stated.
In such cases, he stated, the Kremlin has to take “extra sanitary protocol on protective the fitness of our president and his visitors.”
He stated the choice on who’s subjected to the lengthy desk isn’t political.
“There isn’t anyt any politics right here and this in no manner interferes with negotiations,” Peskov stated.
He stated that if medics from each aspects of diplomatic conferences cooperate, then “Putin communicates together along with his visitors directly, sitting very near and shaking hands.”
A supply in Macron’s entourage advised AFP that the French president “did the entirety as he needed to as constantly while he travels.”
Without going into complete details, a French presidential official, who requested now no longer to be named, showed that the problem has come approximately over the situations of the PCR take a look at demanded with the aid of using the Russian side.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had been additionally subjected to the lengthy–desk diplomacy, made to take a seat down at a distance from Putin once they visited in advance this year.
Putin and Orban additionally drank champagne whilst status at contrary ends of a huge carpet withinside the Kremlin.
The Kremlin has long past to intense lengths to defend 69-year-antique Putin, who’s vaccinated with Russia’s home-grown Sputnik V, from being inflamed with Covid.
While social distancing has been lax in lots of locations in Moscow, the lengthy-time Russian chief has been extraordinarily cautious with Covid.
Under Russia’s modern Covid rules, foreigners touring to Russia are required to take a PCR take a look at earlier than a flight to the united states however do now no longer must take one on arrival.
