Feeling less anxious, Putin? The Russian leader raises his eyebrows as he sits sideways next to glamorous flight attendants – after he sat 20 FEET from French President Macron “because he’s afraid of contracting Covid”
- Putin has been ridiculed in recent weeks for keeping his distance in meetings.
- But yesterday he didn’t notice any problems, slipping close to a group of flight attendants.
- There was a stark contrast to his meeting with Emmanuel Macron last month.
- Putin’s visit to Aeroflot’s training center was timed to coincide with International Women’s Day, but was overshadowed by the news that the airline’s international flights had been suspended.
Like a self-proclaimed strongman Vladimir Putin He has been ridiculed in recent weeks for keeping his distance in meetings with his top generals and world leaders amid rumors that he fears contracting Covid.
But yesterday, the Russian president didn’t see anything wrong with getting up close to a group of glamorous flight attendants – unlike his meeting with the French president. Emmanuel Macron last month, when both leaders sat a few meters apart at opposite ends of a long table.
Putin’s visit to the Aeroflot training center near Moscow was allegedly timed to coincide with the celebration of the approaching International Women’s Day.
The Russian president poses for close-up photographs with Aeroflot employees during his visit to Aeroflot’s aviation training facility near Moscow on March 5, despite demonstrating concerns about social distancing during meetings with heads of state and officials.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Moscow, Russia, February 7, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz give a joint press conference after a meeting on Ukraine’s security issues at the Kremlin in Moscow, February 15, 2022.
But that was overshadowed by Aeroflot’s announcement to halt all international flights except Belarus from Tuesday.
The move by the state-owned airline comes amid fears that foreign leased planes will be confiscated from Russian airlines as part of sanctions imposed by Western governments.
Despite the bouquets of flowers, Putin used the meeting with the flight attendants to liken the sanctions regime to a “declaration of war.”
Putin presents flowers to the female flight crew of Russian airlines during a visit to the aviation training center of Aeroflot PJSC on the eve of International Women’s Day
Putin speaks during a meeting with Aeroflot employees in the Moscow region on Saturday
The Russian president is pictured sitting in the cockpit of a flight simulator while visiting an aviation school near Moscow today.
Putin poses for a photo and congratulates female pilots ahead of International Women’s Day
“But, thank God, it didn’t come to that,” he added.
The Russian despot also warned that any attempt to introduce a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be seen as engaging in armed conflict.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Britain had decided to move into “open confrontation” with Moscow with its sanctions.
The Kremlin has vowed to introduce its own measures to “undermine” British interests in Russia.