This is the awkward moment Russian despot Vladimir Putin was forced to twiddle his thumbs as he waited for a photo-op with Xi Jinping.
Putin is currently hosting Jinping, along with around 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 show Western attempts to isolate Moscow over the two-and-a-half-year offensive have failed.
But his attempts at chest-puffing appear to have fallen flat with his one of his biggest allies, China.
He was seen standing awkwardly to the side of a pair of Russian and Chinese flags in front of a group of cameras, as he waited for Jinping to stand with him.
Putin stood on the spot for several excruciating seconds. Meanwhile, Jinping was later seen rolling up in his car, and casually getting out before strolling over to the meeting spot with his entourage of government officials and security guards.
He was seen standing awkwardly to the side of 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 talk to him
But he has also been made to publicly wait for other leaders throughout the years
Upon seeing his Chinese counterpart, Putin’s face broke out into a smile, and the pair cordially shake hands and pose for the photo-op.
This isn’t the first time he has been made to wait for other world leaders, including his allies.
In 2023, he was made to wait for Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as they met before the Russia-Africa Summit in July that year.
Putin was seen awkwardly rearranging the 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 nearly a full minute.
During talks in Tehran, Putin confidently strode into the room to meet Erdoğan, but was left standing as cameras captured the embarrassing moment.
He was seen clasping his hands and shuffling his feet during the 50-second wait.
Putin stood on the spot for several excruciating seconds
Meanwhile, Jinping was later seen rolling up in his car, and casually getting out before strolling over to the meeting spot
Upon seeing his Chinese counterpart, Putin’s face broke out into a smile, and the pair cordially shake hands and pose for the photo-op
In 2022, he was forced to wait for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for nearly a full minute
Putin confidently strode into the room to meet Erdoğan, but was left standing as cameras captured the embarrassing moment
After nearly a minute, Erdoğan appeared and an exasperated looking Putin shook his hand
After nearly a minute, Erdoğan appeared and an exasperated looking Putin shook his hand.
Joyce Karam, senior correspondent at Middle Eastern media organisation National News, said in a Twitter post at the time: ‘ Those 50 seconds that Erdoğan made Putin wait, looking frazzled in front of cameras say plenty of how much has changed after Ukraine.’
Many at the time believed this was a response to Putin’s own habit of leaving people to wait on their own.
In 2020, he reportedly took so long to enter a room with Erdoğan that the Turkish leader had to take a seat.
And in 2018, he made then-president Donald Trump wait for nearly an hour when they were meant to meet in Helsinki, Finland.
In 2023, he was made to wait for Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as they met before the Russia-Africa Summit in July 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 as he waited
Jonathan Eyal, a Russia expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider at the time that making world leaders wait for him is ‘certainly… part of a power play.’
‘There is no question that it’s a political message.’
He added: ‘Putin seems to have a very healthy respect for monarchs. The British queen, he was only late for her for 14 minutes. The king of Spain he only kept waiting for 20 minutes.’
‘On the whole, it’s a sort of graduated thing that indicates more or less how seriously he takes you or how pleased he is with you.’
Eyal said that the longest known period he has made a world leader wait for him is four hours, an honour that goes to former German chancellor Angela Merkel.
‘I think that this is a backhanded compliment. Usually he could go two or three hours. The only person that was exempt from the delay was the pope.’
