Covid-Conscious Or Power Play? Why Putin Keeps His Distance From World Leaders

The huge table separating Putin and Macron raises eyebrows

- Kieran Guilbert

The build-up to Monday’s meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin focused on how the two leaders might bridge a political gulf over the Ukraine crisis. Yet it was the physical distance between the leaders that dominated the conversation after talks began.

Russia’s president sat his French counterpart more than 10ft away from him at the other end of a long, oval table in the Kremlin, generating mirth and memes on social media while commentators debated whether the seating arrangement was a Covid precaution or deliberate power play.

In recent weeks, Mr Putin has also hosted Hungary’s strongman Viktor Orban – his closest ally in the European Union – and Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, in both cases maintaining distance from his counterparts at opposite ends of the outlandishly large table.

Dr Ben Noble, associate professor of Russian politics at University College London, believes the Kremlin is nervous about the possibility of Mr Putin contracting Covid – mainly due to the political fallout if the 69-year-old was to fall seriously ill or die.

“Given Putin’s centrality to the functioning of the current system – which often relies more on informal connections than formal institutions – his illness poses an existential threat to its continued functioning,” Dr Noble told The Independent.