Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama exchange stiff smiles and overly hearty handshakes during the arrivals for the G-20 summit at the Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sept. 5. As leaders of the world economies meet this week, all eyes are on Putin and Obama, whose relationship has been frosty (at best) since Russia granted NSA leaker Edward Snowden temporary asylum.
And now with the U.S. and Russia feuding once again over whether to strike Syria, the tension is only mounting. Indeed, The Guardian reports that even the G-20's table placement has been changed to reflect the mutual cold shoulder. The original plan was for only one G-20 Summit attendee to separate the two presidents. Now, five will.
Obama had already canceled a planned one-on-one summit with Putin, though the two are reportedly expected to chat, however briefly, at some point.
So perhaps we'll be saved, at least for the moment, from seeing this kind of awkwardness.
