Vladimir Putin raised suspicions after making a strange hand gesture at the SCO forum in China.
The Russian president met with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, at the event today. Putin arrived in China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) event, and was greeted with a red carpet at the airport, but was not personally greeted by the Chinese leader.
When he did eventually meet the Chinese leader, and was introduced to other officials, viewers noticed he appeared to make a strange gesture with his hands, though it was unclear what he was trying to say.
The internet weighed in on the topic, guessing what message the leader was trying to convey. On X, one user suggested that it may have just been nerves, though other users quickly dismissed that.
“I use the same gesture,” another user wrote. “It means something is ‘so-so’ (something normal).”
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It’s almost impossible to know what Putin was actually saying to the Chinese leaders, but it seemed lighthearted. In fact, some viewers felt that Putin seemed in such good spirits, that he may have been drinking beforehand.
“Anyone else think he seems drunk?” one person asked online, receiving a wave of agreement from others.
China’s President Xi Jinping personally welcomed several leaders to the summit, including Putin, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Xi is expected to hold talks with Putin later on in the week.
The SCO is a regional security group, set up to limit the influence of western alliances such as Nato. This weekend’s event was aimed at countering western influence in global affairs.