French President Emmanuel Macron refused a Russian Covid test ahead of his meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has confirmed.
The test required a health protocol that was unacceptable and did not fit with the French leader’s schedule, said a source.
It follows reports that Macron refused the PCR test over fears the Russians would get hold of his DNA.
They did not shake hands and sat with a four-metre-long table between them, with observers wondering whether Putin was using it to send a diplomatic message.
But French diplomatic sources said Macron had been told to choose between accepting a Russian PCR test to get closer to Putin or abide by strict social distancing rules.
“We knew very well that meant no handshake and that long table. But we could not accept that they get their hands on the president’s DNA,” said a source.
The source did not elaborate on how the Russian intelligence services could exploit Macron’s DNA.
“The conditions imposed for the meeting to take place with no social distancing required a health protocol which were according to us unacceptable and incompatible with the president’s schedule,” said a source at the Elysee Palace.
