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French President Emmanuel Macron and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met in Kiev.
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An awkward photo of Macron and Zelenskyy from the visit has become an instant internet meme.
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The photo shows that Zelenskyy does not seem to answer Macron’s apparently enthusiastic hug.
French President Emmanuel Macron dives in for a warm hug, but his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy seems less enthusiastic.
This is what it looks like in a photo of the two leaders, which has since become an instant internet meme.
AFP photographer Ludovic Marin, who took the photo in Kiev last week, said Macron said something in Zelenskyy’s ear at the time. The two had just concluded a joint press conference with other European Union leaders.
“Why is Zelensky looking at us? I don’t know,” Marin said in the photo, per AFP. “It’s true that there is a difference in the way they look, which is very noticeable.”
Social media were quick with their jokes about the seemingly awkward moment.
Tanya Kozyreva, a journalist living in Ukraine, imagines Macron’s words, tweeted: “That I talk to him means nothing, I have always loved you.” Her joke referred to Macron’s regular telephone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Find someone who looks at you the way Macron looks at Zelenskyy”, another Twitter user wrote.
“Now I understand why President Putin has such a long table,” another person tweeted, referring to photos of Putin and Macron sitting on either side of a 13-meter table at a February rally in Moscow.
The photo incident was not the first time the internet has been intrigued by Macron’s interactions with other foreign leaders.
In 2017, the internet went wild with a handshake that Macron shared with then-President Donald Trump. The following year, Macron reportedly shook Trump’s hand so firmly that it left a mark on his hand.
Read the original article on Insider
