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Macron refused to take Russian Covid test

French President Emmanuel Macron refused a Russian Covid take a look at in advance of his meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has confirmed.

The check required a health protocol that became unacceptable and did no longer fit with the French leader’s schedule, a French source informed the BBC.

It follows reviews that Mr Macron refused the PCR take a look at over fears the Russians might get hold of his DNA.

The leaders finally held a socially-distanced assembly on Monday.

They did not shake hands and sat with a four-metre-lengthy table among them, with observers wondering whether Mr Putin turned into using it to ship a diplomatic message.

But French diplomatic resources informed Reuters that Mr Macron have been informed to pick out among accepting a Russian PCR test to get towards Putin or abide by using strict social distancing policies.

“We knew very well that meant no handshake and that long desk. But we could not take delivery of that they get their arms at the president’s DNA,” one of the sources instructed Reuters.

The supply did not intricate on how the Russian intelligence offerings may want to take advantage of Mr Macron’s DNA.

A supply on the Elysée Palace instructed the BBC: “The situations imposed for the assembly to take region and not using a social distancing required a fitness protocol which had been according to us unacceptable and incompatible with the president’s schedule.”

The Kremlin showed that Mr Macron have been stored at a distance from the Russian chief due to the fact he had declined to take a Russian test.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia understood the French position and it had no longer affected the talks.

Mr Macron had executed a PCR check before leaving France and his doctor finished an antigen check after they had been in Moscow, some other French diplomatic source instructed Reuters.

“The Russians instructed us Putin needed to be saved in a strict health bubble,” the second one source informed Reuters.

For decades, spies have profiled overseas leaders – looking to recognize their personality, how they could react to situations and the way lengthy they might final in office. Part of that is knowing their health. That used to be tough.

But advances in technology imply that one pattern of DNA can now unencumber effective insights into someone’s beyond, present or even destiny – is a foreign chief hiding an illness or particular condition or are they vulnerable to one within the future?

The US protection community has currently claimed that China has been gathering big quantities of fitness facts approximately a extensive range of human beings.

It has issued warnings for human beings to be careful what they share, arguing DNA is “the maximum precious factor you very own” and pronouncing that in contrast to dropping a credit card, you can not update your DNA once someone else has the information.

More than a decade ago, america itself changed into accused of trying to get keep of biometric records, inclusive of DNA, belonging to overseas diplomats.

All of that is a signal that biometric intelligence is now a key a part of security.

Mr Macron isn’t always the only chief to had been subjected to the Kremlin’s “lengthy-table” international relations – earlier this year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi have been additionally visible sitting at a distance from Mr Putin at some stage in their visits to Moscow.

The Kremlin has taken extra precautionary measures to guard Mr Putin, who later this year turns 70 and who has been given Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, from getting infected.

However, most effective 3 days after meeting Mr Macron, Mr Putin hosted Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The pair shook palms and sat with a small espresso desk among them.

During their assembly Mr Macron and Mr Putin spoke for five hours about the tensions over Ukraine.

Western international locations say Russia should invade Ukraine however Russia denies making plans to achieve this despite having massed greater than one hundred,000 troops on Ukraine’s border.

The US State Department has entreated Americans in Ukraine to go away immediately.