Vladimir Putin has gone viral after appearing in a 58-second video, alone, while waiting for his Turkish counterpart in Tehran.
The Russian president seemed to have lost all of his customary confidence in the brief appearance after he strolled into a meeting room only to find it empty, aside from the media. He then stood awkwardly in front of reporters.
As he fidgeted, impatiently waiting for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Putin looks deeply uncomfortable, stepping from one foot to another and pulling a series of bored – and possibly nervous – faces.
The cameras even zoom in on the Russian president at one point, highlighting just how unhappy he looks.
As senior correspondent at Middle Eastern media organisation National News, Joyce Karam, tweeted: “Those 50 seconds that Erdoğan made Putin wait, looking frazzled in front of cameras say plenty [about] how much has changed after Ukraine. ”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has received international condemnation, especially as the accusations of war crimes against Ukrainian civilians continue to rise.
In the clip, Putin is eventually met by Erdoğan, and they shake hands in front of the camera before taking a seat.
Putin is actually known for making people wait himself. In 2020, in Moscow, he made Erdoğan wait for so long (approximately two minutes) that the Turkish president decided to sit down, in footage which was widely shared by the Russian media.
According to Turkish outlets at the time, Erdoğan felt humiliated as he and his entourage were forced to wait outside the meeting room.
He hasn’t just been late to meet the Turkish leader either. Over the years, Putin has left the Queen waiting (for 14 minutes back in 2003), the Pope (for an hour in 2015), and former US president Donald Trump (for 45 minutes in 2018).
Karam dubbed the Turkish president’s move a “sweet payback” and suggested “many tables have turned” now.
“Not a small thing that video is shot with close up on Putin’s face by Turkey’s government news agency Anadolu (AA),” she added.
Erdoğan has been pushing to arrange a deal which would allow the thousands of tonnes of grain currently being blockaded by Russian forces to leave Ukraine’s ports.
Turkey, a member of Nato, has been proposing Russia lets Ukrainian grain ships pass on designated routes, as long as no arms are on board.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (a country informally known as the world’s bread basket) has caused a food crisis in other nations dependent on Ukrainian grain.