Texas Barbecue, Jazz & Folk Dance: A Glimpse Into Putin’s Meetings With US Presidents
© Sputnik / Sergey Guneev
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As we gear up for the much-anticipated meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, let’s take a fun stroll down memory lane and revisit some of the most memorable moments from the Russian leader’s past encounters with US presidents.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with every sitting US leader since Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton
Putin and Clinton dined on wild boar, went on a short tour of the Kremlin's Senate Palace, and then settled into armchairs to take in a jazz tribute to Louis Armstrong in Moscow in 2000.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Bill Clinton in the Kremlin's Assumption Cathedral during Russian-U.S. summit in 2000.
© Sputnik / Vladimir Rodionov
George W. Bush
Putin tucked into some Texas barbecue, pecan pie, and enjoyed a little Lone Star State music when he visited George W. Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, to discuss denuclearization during his first state visit to the US in November 2001.
Screenshot of image showing President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin touring a canyon and waterfall at the Bush Ranch in Crawford, Texas, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001. (WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY ERIC DRAPER).
© Photo : WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY ERIC DRAPER
The Russian leader and his US counterpart showed off their dancing skills to a Russian folk song during their meeting in Russia’s Sochi resort city on the Black Sea coast in April 2008.
Barack Obama
Photoshoots of rare face-to-face meetings and brief handshakes between Putin and Obama spoke volumes on their seeming lack of rapport, like when they exchanged a tense luncheon toast during the 70th annual UN General Assembly in New York in 2015.
Screenshot of image showing President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama at luncheon during UN General Assembly in 2015.
© Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Donald Trump
“One of my best meetings ever was with Vladimir Putin,” Trump said of his first one-on-one meeting with the Russian president in the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, in 2018, adding: “I think we'll end up having an extraordinary relationship.”
Joe Biden
It was all about conventional diplomatic handshakes and separate press conferences after Putin held his first summit with Joe Biden at a plush 18th century Swiss villa in Geneva in 2021 that ended with commitments on reinstating diplomats and to open “constructive” dialogue.
