Putin, Macron and the mystery of the endless white table

• Crisis Putin despises Macron and denies a commitment to de-escalation in Ukraine

and the Russian president

sat ,

was not there as a symbol of Russian greatness nor did he intend to convey a message of little understanding or coldness.

He had a very clear role: to maintain a safe distance between the two leaders who, with few words and a frown, held a five-hour meeting to try to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis.

As reported by the Kremlin this Friday, Macron kept that distance from Putin because he had refused to undergo a PCR upon his arrival in Moscow.

So said the Russian government spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, who passed the ball to the French leader's court: "some do not follow their own rules, do not cooperate with the host."

Peskov assured that the distance from the table "is about six meters" - there seems to be no agreement on this detail either, since the Reuters agency says that it is "only" 4 meters - and denied that there was a political meaning behind this scenario .

For its part, since the French presidency several similar explanations have been given, although with certain nuances.

On the one hand, a source close to Macron told the Reuters agency: "We knew that [the rejection of a covid test] meant that there would be no handshake and a long table.

."

"We were not afraid that they would inject a chip"

The Elysee, which has not denied that version, assures that in reality, Macron -who had already had both a PCR before traveling and an antigen test upon arrival in Russia;

in both cases,

- he did not have time to do one more PCR.

"The protocol conditions that would have allowed an interview with less distance and a handshake imposed a health protocol that seemed neither acceptable nor compatible with the agenda," says another source from the French presidency, quoted by various media.

And then, all that DNA business?

"For your complete understanding. PCR means sample, and therefore, sanitary protocol. But done by whom, when, how? No, we were not afraid that the authorities would

president's head, inject him with a chip on his neck and

...", said, somewhat sarcastically, another source from the Elysée to the French newspaper 'Liberation'.

And it is that, in reality, if the Russians wanted the president's DNA, they would have found it in the droplets of saliva on the already famous white table or even in a hair that fell on the chair where the French leader sat.

The President of Kazakhstan, Tokayev, together with Vladimir Putin.EFE

As Agence France Presse recalls, Macron was not the only Kremlin guest to sit at the big white table;

so have Hungarian Prime Minister

and Iranian President

i;

both allies of Russia.

On the other hand, the president of Kazakhstan (former country of the Soviet orbit that asked Russia for help a little over a month ago to quell protests that left more than 200 dead), met yesterday with Putin around a white table, but much smaller;

so much so that it almost looks like a miniature of the other.

There are not a few voices that these days remember how Macron, after the dismissal of former German Chancellor

seems to have filled the void that she left as "leader" of the European continent.

The president, who also holds the presidency of the European Union during this first half of 2022, has also set himself up as a mediator with Vladimir Putin.

According to the Elysee Palace, before meeting him last Monday, Macron had already spoken on the phone with his Russian counterpart up to five times (for example, with his Belarusian ally Lukashenko, in that same period of time, Putin only He has spoken twice).

So it is to be hoped that, despite the endless (like the table) speculation that this meeting has given rise to, the French leader will not give up that role of "mediator" in the current crisis with Ukraine.

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• Russia

• Ukraine

• Vladimir Putin

• European Union

• covid 19

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