Putin breaks out the Kremlin's ridiculously long table to meet with the head of the UN
- Vladimir Putin chose to meet with the UN secretary-general at the Kremlin's 13-foot-long table.
- The table — impractically long for one-on-one chats — has hosted leaders including Emmanuel Macron.
Russian President Vladimir Putin dusted off the Kremlin's infamously long table to meet with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in Moscow on Tuesday.
Putin has now met with a handful of high-profile people at opposite ends of the 13-foot-long white wooden table, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron said he was stationed at one end of the table after refusing to take a Russian-made coronavirus test before meeting with Putin; the French leader said he was concerned the Russians would use the sample to steal his DNA.
Media reports have indicated Putin has obsessed over his health during the pandemic. Oliver Holmes, a journalist for The Guardian, wrote that the impractically lengthy table might be used to limit Putin's exposure to other people. It could also be an attempt to appear intimidating or to show guests his power in Russia, Holmes wrote.
According to a February report in The New York Times, both a company in Italy and another in Spain have laid claim to the table's production — it's unclear who actually made it.
Putin and Guterres met Tuesday to discuss Russia's invasion of and two-month war in Ukraine after repeated failures from Guterres to push for a cease-fire.
Guterres met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier Tuesday, again calling for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from areas of heavy fighting in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
Russia has been in hot water at the UN as member states continue to criticize the country for the devastating war in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the UN General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council after the discovery of mass civilian killings and other atrocities in Kyiv suburbs. Russia responded moments later that it would instead quit the council.