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French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to take a coronavirus test in Russia ahead of a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has confirmed.
The examination required a health protocol that was neither acceptable nor commensurate with the French president’s agenda, according to what a French source told the BBC.
It was reported that Macron refused to be tested for fear of Russians obtaining his DNA.
The two presidents later held a meeting while observing social distancing; They did not shake hands, and they sat at a distance of four meters between them.
This scene prompted observers to wonder whether Putin wanted to send a diplomatic message.
But French diplomatic sources told Archyde.com news agency that Macron was given the choice between accepting the Russian examination or adhering to social distancing measures.
A source told Archyde.com: “We knew very well that it meant that there would be no handshakes and distancing across a long table. But we would not accept them getting their hands on the president’s DNA.”
The source did not explain how Russian intelligence would be able to exploit Macron’s genetic fingerprint.
A source in the Elysee told the BBC: “The arrangements that were imposed to hold the meeting without social distancing required a sanitary protocol that for us was unacceptable and did not fit the president’s agenda.”
The Kremlin stressed that Macron kept his distance from Putin, because the French president refused to be examined by Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia understood the French position, and this did not affect the progress of the talks.
Macron had taken a test to detect Covid-19 before leaving France, and his doctor had also conducted a rapid antigen test once they arrived in Moscow, another diplomatic source told Archyde.com.
Another source stated: “The Russians told us that Putin is keen to observe a strict health regime.”
Three days following Macron’s meeting, Putin hosted Kazakh President Kassym Tokayev, and the two leaders shook hands and sat close to each other, separated by only a small table.
During the meeting, Macron and Putin discussed the tensions over Ukraine for five hours.
Western countries say that Russia may invade Ukraine, but the Russians deny any intention to do so, despite massing regarding 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and seized three Ukrainian navy ships in 2018.
Russia has launched massive military exercises jointly with its neighbor and ally Belarus, which has a long border with Ukraine.
France described the exercises – believed to be Russia’s largest deployment in Belarus since the Cold War – as a “violent gesture”.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Thursday that Europe was facing its biggest security crisis in decades.
US President Joe Biden urged all his citizens in Ukraine to leave immediately.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Friday that Russia was massing more troops on its border with Ukraine, warning of the possibility of an “invasion at any time”.