Fact Check: Was Putin's Handshake Rejected in Middle East Summit Video?

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this week.

Following Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv's allies, led by the U.S, have sought to isolate Russia from the global financial system with sanctions. The International Criminal Court (ICC) to which the UAE is not a signatory, has issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader on war crime charges, including the alleged abduction of children in Ukraine.

Even though Putin's trip on Wednesday was met with pomp from the Gulf state, some social media accounts said the Russian leader may have received a chilled reception at one point, with a video allegedly showing a line of officials avoiding a handshake with him.

The Claim

A post on X, formerly Twitter, by user @Heroiam_Slava, on December 7, 2023, viewed 115,500 times, showed a line of people walking toward UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Almost everyone in the line of people shakes Al Nahyan's hand but not Putin's.

A caption next to the video stated: "No handshakes for Putin."

The Facts

Putin's visit to the UAE was noticeably decorative, with jets painting the colors of the Russian flag in the sky while his country's ensigns fluttered in the streets of Abu Dhabi as his convoy drove through, accompanied by cavalry.

So the sight of the president being snubbed by what appeared to be a long line of delegates seemed particularly out of step with the occasion.

As it turns out, this was all part of what appeared to be an introductory welcoming session between Russian and UAE officials. The group in the video on X were all Russian officials, and can be seen in one clip published by Gulf News; among them were Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

In the clip on X, one member of the group broke away to shake hands with Putin. That was Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who was among the reported list of officials who attended the trip. Kadyrov can be seen clearly in other footage of Putin meeting with UAE delegates.

The Russian officials appeared to have been instructed to shake Al Nahyan's hand alone. The greeting custom was returned to Putin by UAE officials.

Putin traveled to the UAE as part of a "working visit" as well as neighboring Saudi Arabia, the Kremlin announced on Wednesday. The meeting with President Al Nahyan was said to "focus on the current state of multifaceted bilateral cooperation" as well as the situation in the Middle East.

The Kremlin said Putin was also due to speak with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, with talks focusing on "bilateral cooperation and trade," as well as "the regional and international agenda."

The Ruling

False.

The people in the video were not snubbing Vladimir Putin. The group consisted of Russian officials who appeared to have been instructed to only shake the hand of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as part of a welcoming ceremony during Putin's recent visit to the Gulf state.

Other footage posted online showed the greeting being returned to Putin by UAE officials.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team