In from the cold: Putin ditches 20ft table he used to keep Macron at bay for cosy trade talks with Brazil's Bolsonaro - as threat of war with Ukraine looms large
As hints go, it is hardly subtle: After shunting European leaders down the end of a 20ft table for tough talks on Ukraine, Vladimir Putin welcomed Brazil's president for trade talks today with only a tiny table between them.
Jair Bolsonaro was pictured at the Kremlin alongside Putin and their aides, separated by barely two feet of space - close enough that they could have reached out to shake hands, had they wanted to.
That stands in stark and revealing contrast to the huge banqueting table that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz found themselves sitting at the end of in Moscow in recent days.
Ostensibly the two men were kept away from Putin because they refused to take a Covid test. It is not clear if Bolsonaro did agree to a test, thought he is a well-known virus skeptic who has refused to be vaccinated.
Jair Bolsonaro sits down for trade talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin today, with only an end table separating the pair
The gesture is a far cry from the treatment that Emmanuel Macron got when he went to Moscow last week for Ukraine talks, having found himself sat at the end of a 20ft banqueting table
Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor, was given similar 'long-table treatment' when he visited the Kremlin this week
Bolsonaro is in Moscow as Western leaders remain fearful of a Russian attack on its neighbour Ukraine.
He had brushed off pressure from Washington, Brazil's traditional ally, and his own cabinet to cancel the trip.
He justified the visit by saying it will be focused largely around trade.
The Kremlin said the pair will discuss 'strengthening the Russian-Brazilian strategic partnership', as well as trade, scientific and cultural ties.
They will also 'exchange views on the key problems of the international agenda'.
Brazil's foreign and defence ministers are also to hold talks with their Russian counterparts.
Before the South American set off for Moscow, Brazil publicly reaffirmed its diplomatic ties with Kyiv.
Bolsonaro, who dismissed pressure from the US to call off the visit, was welcomed to Moscow with a brass band, honour guard and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Kremlin
Bolsonaro inspects a flower wreath in the shape of the Brazilian national flag as it is laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, welcoming him to the Russian capital
Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro attends a flower laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexander Garden
Bolsonaro's welcome stands in start contrast to Macron's, after the French president arrived at a largely deserted Moscow airport and had to walk himself to the terminal building
'The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Franca, spoke by phone today with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba,' the foreign ministry said on Twitter ahead of the trip.
Russia had made the invitation in late November, when tension over Ukraine was already building.
Bolsonaro accepted, deciding to combine it with a Thursday visit to fellow far-right leader Viktor Orban in Hungary, who also recently met Putin.
He has expressed admiration for 'strong man' Putin.
The Brazilian leader, known for controversial views on the pandemic, is not vaccinated against Covid-19.
Putin, who has been extremely cautious not to catch the coronavirus, has received world leaders at a now famous stretching table in the Kremlin.
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