While all his actions have been analyzed with a fine-tooth comb since the start of the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin could have done without a somewhat awkward moment in front of the cameras.
This Tuesday, Tehran received the Russian president and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to discuss the situation in Syria but also in Ukraine. Except that this meeting caused a lot of ink to flow… even before the two protagonists spoke.
Standing ready to greet Erdogan and pose in front of the traditional photo, Putin had to wait longer than expected. On a video, we can see the Russian head of state starting to lose patience before Erdogan enters … 50 seconds later.
A voluntary gesture on the part of the Turkish president? It’s not impossible, especially when you look back to 2020 during a meeting between the same two heads of state. Putin, customary to the fact, had then made his counterpart wait nearly two minutes.
Despite this, the negotiations bore fruit, according to the Russian president. “We have come a long way. Not all the issues have been resolved yet, but there is movement and that’s a good thing.”