Vladimir Putin refused to meet Moscow's new ambassadors of the United States and the European Union in person amid his war against Ukraine.
The 70-year-old snubbed the delegates due to "sanitary restrictions" and instead spoke from the other side of the gilded Alexander Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace - some 60 feet away. The scene was redolent of his use of a long table.
Putin insists it was for coronavirus concerns despite the Russian leader meeting numerous people in recent weeks, which included a spontaneous visit to war-torn Mariupol in invaded Ukraine.