On Friday morning in Buenos Aires at the G-20 meeting, Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin gave a warm handshake to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. As both smiled warmly, bin Salman patted their clasped hands.
Russian President Putin and Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman embrace and laugh at the G20 in Argentina. pic.twitter.com/DtyNK6RwhI
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 30, 2018
Twitter naturally remarked over the jovial, almost congratulatory, gesture: Both men are ruling with impunity and pursuing an aggressive foreign policy while suspected of killing journalists. Saudi Arabia’s attempts to intimidate Qatar mirror Russia’s bullying of Ukraine. In an era where American leadership is insecure and President Donald Trump has shown himself unwilling to rein in either Russia or Saudi Arabia, Putin and bin Salman can bask in their triumph.
French president Emanuel Macron’s greeting to bin Salman, meanwhile, was somewhat less warm:
Video of Macron and MBS chat , you can hear #France Prez saying "you never listen to me", #Saudi CP responds "I do of course listen"
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) November 30, 2018
At G-20 today via @OKAZ_online pic.twitter.com/NRhkgBQlLb