Leaders gathering for Libya peace talks in Berlin attempted to take a group photo as the summit got underway, but the photo-op was momentarily delayed as no one could seem to find Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The awkward ‘Where’s Putin?’ moment was captured on video as other leaders shuffled around trying to locate the Russian president.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel looked particularly perturbed by Putin’s absence, turning around to look for him multiple times and pointing toward the empty spot where he should have been standing.
French President Emmanuel Macron then joined the search, looking off to the sidelines before beckoning toward the Russian leader who had finally emerged on the scene. Putin wasn’t the only one to show up late, however, as Italian PM Giuseppe Conte walked in with him.
The Berlin talks are aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire in Libya’s civil war, which has been raging between the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by PM Fayez al-Sarraj, and a rival government led by General Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army.
The Sunday summit is a continuation of talks that began last week in Moscow hosted by the Russian and Turkish governments, which managed to bring the warring sides to the table.
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