MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

'Pass the salt': Putin and Macron MOCKED for discussing Ukraine over 'air hockey' table

A picture of French President Emmanuel Macron sitting across Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the Ukraine crisis has become a meme on social media

French President Emmanuel Macron sat across from Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis — and the two men kept their distance. Macron paid a visit to the Kremlin, where the two presidents shared a five-hour meal of reindeer with sweet potatoes and blackberries and addressed the worsening Ukraine problem.

Despite the importance of the conference, everyone's attention was drawn to the unusually lengthy table. It was just a matter of time until Twitter turned it into a meme, while others demonstrated their Photoshop prowess. One Twitter user wrote, “There is more space between Macron and Putin than between the Russian troops and the Ukrainian borders.” Another wrote, “The photo of Putin meeting Macron today was some picture. A table the size of an aircraft carrier deck. Why?” “Putin and Macron are meeting in the most absurd setting 🤣,” yet another person hilariously quoted. 

RELATED ARTICLES

Russia-Ukraine conflict: What's happening and how is US getting involved

Biden and Putin barely make eye contact as they exchange frosty handshake

Macron told Putin that the coming days will be decisive and demand extensive negotiations that we will undertake together. Some of Macron's suggestions may form the basis of additional collaborative initiatives, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, adding that it was probably still too early to talk about. "We will do everything to find compromises that suit everyone,” he added. Moscow has rejected any invasion intentions. "It is not us who are moving towards NATO's borders," Putin stated. Dmitri Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said that the situation in Ukraine is extremely complicated to expect a substantial-conclusion in only one meeting. Macron wanted to avoid a worsening of the situation on the ground. "I don't believe in spontaneous miracles," Macron stated before the meeting, BBC reports. 

Macron said in an interview with the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche, "The security and sovereignty of Ukraine or any other European state cannot be a subject for compromise, while it is also legitimate for Russia to pose the question of its own security." He said that he believes Russia's geopolitical goal today is not Ukraine, but to clarify the parameters of cooperation with NATO and the EU. After the French President meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday, the two leaders will communicate again.