Putin stands 70ft away from British ambassador in bizarre first meeting at the Kremlin
Putin stood 70ft away from foreign ambassadors
Reuters
Putin has refused to stand within 70ft of Britain's ambassador at a meeting with new foreign ambassadors today.
The Russian leader blames 'sanitary reasons' in awkward scenes.
Putin spoke of better relations with the British ambassador at a distance
REUTERS
Putin insisted that a distance was kept between him and the ambassadors as he delivered a speech welcoming them.
Putin told the ambassadors that he hoped to improve his relationship with Great Britain as the UK's new diplomat in Moscow Nigel Casey attended the event.
"Let us hope that the situation will change for the better in the interests of our two countries and peoples," Putin said.
WATCH: Putin speaks to the new ambassadors at the Kremlin
Putin stood 70ft away from the foreign ambassadors
However arriving at the event through gold doors he stood dozens of feet away from the 21 envoys.
At the same meeting, the Russian leader blasted the Germans saying cooperation between Moscow and Berlin had been disrupted by blasts in September 2022 affecting Nord Stream pipelines that had pumped Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
"The current frozen state of (Germany's) relations with Russia - and this is not on our initiative, I want to emphasise - is unprofitable. It is unprofitable both for us and for you, but especially, in my view, for Germany," Putin said.
"Energy has always been an attractive area of bilateral cooperation," he said. "This cooperation was literally disrupted by the sabotage on the Nord Stream pipelines."
Russia has blamed the United States, Britain, and Ukraine for the pipeline blasts. They all denied any involvement.
Putin also said on Monday he hoped that relations.