The German tabloid Bild saw a "hidden meaning" in the bouquet Russian President Vladimir Putin gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel during their recent meeting in Sochi on May 18, 2018. "It looks like a courtesy, but in fact it's an affront," he argued, claiming that the flowers were supposed to remind Merkel that she was a woman.
According to the author of the publication, heads of state are supposed to shake hands during a meeting and not present each other with flowers.
READ MORE: German Tabloid Sees 'Hidden Meaning' in Putin's Bouquet for Merkel
However, world leaders have resorted to flower power in the international arena quite often.
© Sputnik / Mikhael Klimentyev / Go to the mediabankRussian President Vladimir Putin gives a bouquet to German Chancellor Angela Merkel during their meeting in Sochi in May 2018.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a bouquet to German Chancellor Angela Merkel during their meeting in Sochi in May 2018.
© REUTERS / Host BroadcasterNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong look on next to South Korean President Moon Jae In after a flower presentation by children ahead of the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom in South Korea on April 27, 2018.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong look on next to South Korean President Moon Jae In after a flower presentation by children ahead of the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom in South Korea on April 27, 2018.
© AP Photo / Sergei ChuzavkovOrange Revolution heroine Yulia Tymoshenko smiles as she holds a bouquet of flowers depicting a map of Ukraine, presented to her in the parliament in Kiev, Ukraine, in 2007.
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© AP Photo / Sergei Chuzavkov
Orange Revolution heroine Yulia Tymoshenko smiles as she holds a bouquet of flowers depicting a map of Ukraine, presented to her in the parliament in Kiev, Ukraine, in 2007.
© AP Photo / Carolyn KasterFormer US President Barack Obama is presented with flowers as he and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive at Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar, on Air Force One, in November 2012. This is the first visit to Myanmar by a sitting US president.
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© AP Photo / Carolyn Kaster
Former US President Barack Obama is presented with flowers as he and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive at Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar, on Air Force One, in November 2012. This is the first visit to Myanmar by a sitting US president.
© Sputnik / Alexei Druzhinin / Go to the mediabankCroatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović receives flowers from Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Sochi, Russia, in October 2017.
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović receives flowers from Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Sochi, Russia, in October 2017.
© AP Photo / Raad AdaylehThen French Prime Minister Manuel Valls received a bouquet of flowers when he visited a Roman Catholic Church housing Iraqi refugees in Amman, Jordan, in October 2015.
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© AP Photo / Raad Adayleh
Then French Prime Minister Manuel Valls received a bouquet of flowers when he visited a Roman Catholic Church housing Iraqi refugees in Amman, Jordan, in October 2015.
© AFP 2023 / Menahem KahanaThen Israeli President Shimon Peres kisses former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the cheek as he gives her a bouquet of flowers at the end of a joint press conference after their meeting in Jerusalem on March 3, 2009.
Then Israeli President Shimon Peres kisses former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the cheek as he gives her a bouquet of flowers at the end of a joint press conference after their meeting in Jerusalem on March 3, 2009.
© AP Photo / S.I. KalolJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe receives a bouquet of flowers from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina before a meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in September 2014.
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© AP Photo / S.I. Kalol
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe receives a bouquet of flowers from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina before a meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in September 2014.
© Sputnik / Mikhail Palinchak / Go to the mediabankUkrainian President Petro Poroshenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel during their meeting in Kiev in 2014.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel during their meeting in Kiev in 2014.
© AFP 2023 / Scanpix Denmark/Keld NavntoftThen Czech President Vaclav Klaus and his wife Livia presents flowers to Denmark's Queen Margrethe prior to a lunch meeting at Fredensborg Palace in November 2006.
Then Czech President Vaclav Klaus and his wife Livia presents flowers to Denmark's Queen Margrethe prior to a lunch meeting at Fredensborg Palace in November 2006.
© AFP 2023 / Hoang Dinh NamFormer Chilean president Sebastian Pinera and his spouse are greeted with flower bouquets as they arrive at Hanoi airport, Vietnam, on March 21, 2012.
Former Chilean president Sebastian Pinera and his spouse are greeted with flower bouquets as they arrive at Hanoi airport, Vietnam, on March 21, 2012.
© Sputnik / Dmitry Astakhov / Go to the mediabankThen Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meets then Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in his residence in the Moscow region in January 2010.
Then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meets then Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in his residence in the Moscow region in January 2010.
© AP Photo / Yves LogghePoland's former Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Italy's former Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, take their bouquets of flowers after addressing the media during an EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, in 2014. On that day the European Union leaders nominated Mogherini to become the 28-nation bloc's new foreign policy chief for the next five years. EU leaders also elected Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to succeed European Council President Herman Van Rompuy in December as the EU summit's chairman.
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© AP Photo / Yves Logghe
Poland's former Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Italy's former Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, take their bouquets of flowers after addressing the media during an EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, in 2014. On that day the European Union leaders nominated Mogherini to become the 28-nation bloc's new foreign policy chief for the next five years. EU leaders also elected Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to succeed European Council President Herman Van Rompuy in December as the EU summit's chairman.