While officials cited "scheduling conflicts" that dashed hopes of a bilateral meeting between President Trump and President Putin on the sidelines of the APEC summit, the two 'old friends' came face-to-face during the photo-op at the start of the conference... and the handshake took place...
The two were all smiles while shaking hands during the photo call...
Preparing for the traditional leaders’ photo at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit – held this year in Da Nang, Vietnam – Putin had already taken his spot when Trump approached him, extending his hand. In the manner which has become famous, the US president then held onto Putin’s hand for several seconds, patting his counterpart on the back.
The leaders were dressed in Vietnamese national attire, in accordance with the informal APEC tradition. Both Putin and Trump put on blue shirts, while some of the other participants chose to wear white ones.
Notably the positioning of the leaders this year...right next to the Vietnamese leader and Putin...
Quite different from that of three years ago when President Obama appeared to be demoted to the old wives club...