Placeholder while loading article actions
TELFS, Austria – Vladimir Putin was not in the room when the leaders of the Group of Seven met in the Bavarian Alps. But the Russian president remained very much in the minds of the leaders, even during a discussion about the right attire for a group photo.
Hours after President Biden said G-7 nations would announce a ban on new Russian gold imports in an attempt to further punish Putin for invading Ukraine, Western leaders joked on the opening day of the G-7 summit on how they could intimidate Putin in an unconventional way.
“Jackets put on? Jackets off? Do we take off our clothes?” Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked, ostensibly wondering how leaders should dress for an unofficial photo before the lunch meeting begins.
“We all have to prove we are tougher than Putin,” the British leader joked at the summit site in Schloss Elmau, Germany.
Putin was expelled from the group in 2014 after Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean region of Ukraine.
“We’re going to do a bare-chest riding show,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, referring to the Russian president’s predilection for distributing photos of himself outdoors, sometimes shirtless , even on horseback.
“Here you are! Here you are! We have to show them our pectorals! ”Johnson added.
Biden: G-7 will ban Russian gold imports to deny Putin’s revenue from war in Ukraine
From arm wrestling to martial arts, Putin’s hobbies have tried to present core physical strength and power to his personal brand.
Over the years, the Russian leader has been photographed frequently posing with his torso in full screen, fodder for a series of online memes.
How the Kremlin made the Russian president a world icon
A photo shoot in 2009 showed a shirtless Putin riding a horse in the mountains. In 2018, more themed outdoor plans emerged, showing Putin, stripped to the waist and fishing in a Siberian lake. There were photos of Putin the swimmer and Putin the swimmer.
When a journalist asked him in 2018 about his penchant for “half-naked” photos, Putin defended the photo collection.
“When I’m on holiday I don’t see the need to hide behind the bushes, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Putin told an Australian journalist.
New photos of Putin with bare chest have been published: 2017 edition, aquatic theme
As Putin’s comment continued, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stabbed diplomacy on Sunday, shifting the conversation from mocking the Russian leader to an enthusiastic endorsement of equestrianism.
“Oh, yes,” she said. “Although horseback riding is the best!”
President Biden, who had remained silent during the distribution, finally, at the urging of his fellow leaders, turned his chair and smiled at the photo.
Biden opted for jackets.