For nearly a minute, Russian President Vladimir Putin stood alone in front of two chairs, waiting for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, shuffling in place as cameras rolled.
The Russian leader fidgeted as he waited nearly a minute for Erdogan to join him, as the two leaders met in Iran. Video of Putin appearing impatient quickly spread across social media.
Putin can be seen walking into the room briskly, only to then stop in front of the two empty chairs. More than 45 seconds later, Erdogan eventually joined him and the two men shook hands, posing for photographs.
Erdogan’s delay was reminiscent of when Putin had the Turkish leader wait outside his office in Moscow for two minutes before a 2020 meeting.
PUTIN MEETS WITH IRAN, TURKEY IN TEHRAN AMID DEADLY WAR IN UKRAINE
The two leaders were scheduled to meet for one of Putin’s planned meetings on his trip to Tehran. Another involved Iranian and Turkish leaders for the purpose of discussing the ongoing conflict in Syria.
The Russian president’s trip to Iran comes after warnings from the United States that Iran could provide Russia with drones for its war against Ukraine.
PUTIN FACES SECOND WAR FRONT AS CHECHENS THREATEN NEW OFFENSIVE IN RUSSIA
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration had information that indicated the Iranian government was preparing to provide Russia with “up to several hundred UAVs, including weapons-capable UAVs on an expedited timeline.”
Sullivan was referring to unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.
Putin’s visit to Iran comes after President Biden visited Israel and Saudi Arabia. Biden, in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, discussed implementing missile and defense capabilities in the Middle East as a counter to Iranian drone and missile attacks.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
