The leaders were in Tehran for a crunch meeting
Recep Erdoğan managed to exact some sweet revenge on Vladimir Putin as the leaders met in Tehran for a crucial summit.
The Russian President arrived in Iran on Tuesday for a visit intended to deepen ties with Iran and Turkey following the
war with Ukraine.
As well as meetings with Ebrahim Raisi, the trip offers Putin a chance for a high-stakes meeting with Erdogan, who has sought to help broker talks on a peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The leaders are expected to engage in peace talks as well as discuss the possibility of unblocking grain exports from the war-torn nation through the Black Sea.
It got off to a frosty start after Putin was made to wait almost a minute in front of cameras in an excruciating moment.
The Russian leader, who makes a big effort to be portrayed as stoic and in control, was seen shuffling his feet and sucking his cheeks during the 50-second wait.
Finally, Putin let his hands fall by his sides with a hint of exasperation as Erdoğan casually emerged and the pair shook hands.
“Those 50 seconds that Erdoğan made Putin wait, looking frazzled in front of cameras say plenty of how much has changed after Ukraine,” Joyce Karam, senior correspondent at Middle Eastern media organisation National News, said in a Twitter post.
Karam called the exchange “sweet payback” for Erdoğan after Putin left the Turkish leader waiting for around two minutes before a meeting in 2020.
Turkish media reported at the time that Erdoğan and his entourage were left humiliated after they were forced to wait outside in an antechamber in footage shared widely by Russian news outlets.
This, therefore, will likely be perceived to be a long-overdue payback:
https://twitter.com/johnsweeneyroar/status/1549490856146751495?s=20&t=oeRxtyPyZy4CEVfoQ_7XtA
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