French President Emmanuel Macron has rejected a Kremlin request for a Russian Covid-19 test on his arrival ahead of a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this week and has therefore been kept at bay by the Russian leader, he said. Reuters two sources from the Macron environment.
Observers were surprised by the published photos, where Macron and Putin were sitting on opposite sides of a 4-meter-long table to discuss the Ukraine crisis on Monday, with some diplomats and others arguing that Putin may have wanted to send a diplomatic message.
But the two sources, familiar with the French president’s health protocol, told Reuters that Macron was given a choice: either accept a PCR test submitted by the Russian authorities and be allowed to sit close to Putin. or, if he refused, he would have to follow stricter rules of social distancing.
“We knew very well that this meant no handshakes and (sitting) at a long table. But we could not accept access to the president’s DNA,” a source told Reuters, referring to security concerns if the Frenchman President was being tested by Russian doctors.
A Kremlin spokesman has not yet responded to a Reuters message for comment.
A second source close to the French leader confirmed that Macron had refused to undergo a Russian PCR test. The source said that instead Emanuel Macron underwent a French PCR test before his departure and an antigen test was performed by his own doctor as soon as he arrived in Russia.
“The Russians told us that Putin must remain in a strict health bubble,” the second source explained.
Today, three days after the Macron-Putin meeting, the Russian leader received the President of Kazakhstan Kasim-Jomart Tokayev. The two men exchanged handshakes and sat next to each other, separated by a small table.
Source: Capital

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