(L-R) Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso line up for the obligatory "family photo" today at Konstantinovsky Palace in St.Petersburg.
There are always so many photos that emerge from summits like these. What I've tried to do today is give you a glimpse behind the curtain.
This photo is so interesting because of the body language. President Bush and his good friend, the Japanese Prime Minister stand next to each other waiting for the photo to be snapped. Putin stands next to GWB while that false U.S. "ally," Chirac of France, bends Putin's ear. Like many Russian leaders before him, Putin, of course, is playing two ends against the middle.
Bush, Chirac, Putin, Blair and Harper -- more interesting body language.
Putin looks a little sheepish (or is it cagey?) in this one.
