Miss M., I thought the same thing when I noticed him holding Nelson Mandela's hand; such a kind gesture. Another gesture of friendshhip he uses is the hand on the back as you can see as they are going back up on the portico.
But I have to disagree with you about Putin; he's no David McCallum (yum, yum, I'm transported back 35 years!) Putin actually reminds me of Wayne Gretzky!
I've been wracking my brain for a long time to think of who it is that he reminded me of and that's who it is! Thanks!