German Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused the PCR test provided by the Kremlin and instead took one at the German embassy before meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in person, Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported. Russian medics were invited to observe the testing process, the newspaper added.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Scholz did not take the Russian test, but noted that it did not affect the nature of his talks with Putin – only the precautions taken to protect the leaders' health. The spokesman said that Moscow respects other countries' testing protocols.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron also refused to undergo an additional PCR test carried out by Russian medics before meeting with Putin last week. The president's spokesman said it only resulted in the presidents sitting 6 metres apart at a long oval table during the talks.
Peskov did not go into details on why Macron rejected the test, but Reuters said, citing sources, that the French president's office did not want Russia to get its hands on "Macron's DNA".