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Twitter disappointed over ‘historic’ but normal Trump-Putin handshake at G20

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for the first time on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany.

world Updated: Jul 07, 2017 20:23 IST
HT Correspondent
HT Correspondent
Associated Press
Donald Trump,Vladimir Putin,G20
US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin during the their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.(REUTERS)

The highly-anticipated handshake has finally happened. US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for the first time on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, under the shadow of intense speculation of Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.

In a video of the brief informal exchange, posted by the German Cabinet on Facebook, between the leaders of the two biggest economies, Trump was seen outstretching his hand to Putin as officials gathered around a table, then patting Putin’s elbow as both men smiled. In another clip, Trump casually patted Putin on the back as they stood side by side.

Twitterati couldn’t stop ruminating if this would make it to Trump’s long list of awkward handshakes.

Some, however, were left disappointed that Trump didn’t try out his ‘white-knuckle’ handshake that he did during his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in May.

Trump infamously famous handshakes - mostly awkward or aggressive - have been a subject of much discussion on social media. Be it the extremely long and firm handshake with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the jerky one with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson or the lack of one with Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel, the US President’s handshakes have never failed to draw international headlines.

First Published: Jul 07, 2017 20:23 IST

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