Macron and Putin's '5m Social Distancing'... 'Clingy' Next to the Crew Member

Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with Aeroflot crew members and taking a commemorative photo on the 5th (local time) (top), and sitting far apart across a 5-meter-long table during talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on the 7th of last month.
[Photo by AFP]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A commemorative photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin surrounded by female flight attendants of a domestic airline has been released. This is quite different from his previous behavior of keeping distance from others due to COVID-19 preventive measures.

According to major foreign media on the 5th (local time), President Putin visited the state-owned airline Aeroflot's flight training center near Moscow, held a meeting with female flight attendants, and took a commemorative photo. This was to celebrate International Women's Day on the 8th. President Putin congratulated the flight attendants on Women's Day by presenting prepared bouquets.

Notably, during the event, President Putin was seen standing close to the flight attendants. He took the commemorative photo shoulder-to-shoulder with the attendants without wearing a mask. Another photo showed President Putin sitting around a long table with the flight attendants, having tea and engaging in conversation.

These photos soon sparked controversy. It was pointed out that this contrasts with President Putin's recent behavior of maintaining a certain distance from others to prevent COVID-19 infection.

Previously, when President Putin met French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the 7th and 15th of last month respectively, he did not shake hands. He also held talks sitting far apart on opposite sides of a long table about 5 meters in length. When photos from the scene were released, jokes such as "It looks like they could play curling" were made.

President Putin also maintained distance during a meeting with senior military officials held on the 24th of last month after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, President Putin's recent visit took place amid the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency's recommendation on the same day for domestic airlines to suspend foreign flights. Following the agency's recommendation, major Russian airlines including Aeroflot decided to suspend international flights starting from the 6th.

According to foreign media, during the conversation with the flight attendants, President Putin claimed that the Western countries' sanctions against Russia were "close to a declaration of war." He also warned that the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace would be considered as "intervention in the war with Ukraine."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.