This is the awkward moment Russian despot Vladimir Putin was forced to twiddle his thumbs while waiting for a photo op with Xi Jinping.
Putin is currently hosting Jinping, along with about two dozen other world leaders, in Russia for the BRICS conference.
The conference, the most important since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, comes as Putin seeks to demonstrate that Western attempts to isolate Moscow during the two-and-a-half-year offensive have failed.
But its attempts at boasting appear to have backfired with one of its biggest allies, China.
He was seen standing awkwardly next to a pair of Russian and Chinese flags in front of a group of cameras, while waiting for Jinping to be next to him.
Putin remained motionless for several excruciating seconds. Meanwhile, Jinping was later seen getting into his car and casually leaving before heading to the meeting venue with his entourage of government officials and security guards.
He was seen standing awkwardly next to a pair of Russian and Chinese flags in front of a group of cameras.
Putin is known for making world leaders wait several hours to speak with him.
But other leaders have also been publicly kept waiting over the years.
Seeing his Chinese counterpart, Putin’s face lit up with a smile, and the two shook hands cordially and posed for the photo session.
This is not the first time other world leaders, including their allies, have been kept waiting.
In 2023, they made Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi wait when they met before the Russia-Africa Summit in July of that year.
Putin was seen clumsily rearranging pens and paper on the desk in front of him, as he waited for his Egyptian counterpart.
In 2022, he was forced to wait for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for almost a minute.
During the talks in Tehran, Putin confidently walked into the room to meet Erdoğan, but stood by as cameras captured the embarrassing moment.
He was seen clasping his hands and shuffling his feet during the 50-second wait.
Putin remained motionless for a few excruciating seconds.
Meanwhile, Jinping was later seen getting into his car and casually leaving before heading to the meeting location.
Seeing his Chinese counterpart, Putin’s face lit up with a smile, and the two shook hands cordially and posed for the photo session.
In 2022, he was forced to wait for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for almost a minute.
Putin confidently walked into the room to meet Erdoğan, but stood by as cameras captured the embarrassing moment.
After almost a minute, Erdoğan appeared and Putin, with an exasperated expression, shook his hand.
After almost a minute, Erdoğan appeared and Putin, looking exasperated, shook his hand.
Joyce Karam, senior correspondent for the Middle East media organization National News, said in a Twitter post at the time: “Those 50 seconds Erdoğan made Putin wait, looking exhausted in front of the cameras, says a lot about how much has changed. after Ukraine.”
Many at the time believed this was a response to Putin’s own habit of letting people wait alone.
In 2020, it reportedly took him so long to get into a room with Erdoğan that the Turkish leader had to take a seat.
And in 2018, he kept then-President Donald Trump waiting for nearly an hour when they were due to meet in Helsinki, Finland.
In 2023, they made Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi wait when they met before the Russia-Africa Summit in July of that year.
Putin was seen shuffling his feet as he waited for his Egyptian counterpart.
He also shuffled the papers and pens on the desk while he waited.
Jonathan Eyal, a Russia expert at the Royal United Services Institute, said Insider business information at a time when making world leaders wait for him is “certainly… part of a power play.”
“There is no doubt that it is a political message.”
He added: ‘Putin seems to have a very healthy respect for monarchs. The British queen was only late for 14 minutes. The king of Spain was only waiting for 20 minutes.’
“Generally, it’s a sort of graded thing that indicates more or less how seriously he takes you or how satisfied he is with you.”
Eyal said the longest known period he has kept a world leader waiting is four hours, an honor that goes to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
‘I think this is a backhanded compliment. Normally it could take two or three hours. The only person who was exempt from the delay was the Pope.