G20 Hamburg: Eye-rolling, face palms and other memorable moments

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Summit photo, 8 JulyImage source, Getty Images

Even the most choreographed meetings can be expected to deliver unexpected moments.

Here are some of our favourites from the G20 summit in Germany.

Merkel rolls her eyes at Putin?

Former US President George W Bush once said that after looking Vladimir Putin in the eye he was able to get a "sense of his soul".

Perhaps when German Chancellor Angela Merkel did the same she didn't like what she saw.

A clip of her apparently rolling her eyes at the Russian president went viral on Friday. It is not clear what they were discussing.

Media caption,

Angela Merkel rolls her eyes at Vladimir Putin

Social media users also had fun with this photo of Mrs Merkel and Donald Trump.

Image source, Twitter/@Mike_P_Williams
Image source, Reuters

Macron moves to the far right

In an awkward moment, French President Emmanuel Macron appeared unsure where to take his place in the "family photo" of leaders taken on Friday.

After entering stage left and making his way to the centre of the group, he manoeuvred his way to the far right, next to Mr Trump, hugging and kissing his way to the front row.

Media caption,

Macron stands by Trump - for the photo, at least

Some commentators have suggested Mr Macron appeared remarkably eager to engage with his US counterpart, despite previous tense moments between the two.

In fact it was the protocol that positioned the two men next to each other.

As the newest heads of state in the G20, they were meant to stand side by side at the far end of the front row.

Stealing the show?

It was quite a promotion - Ivanka Trump, the daughter of US President Donald Trump who works as an adviser to him, took her father's seat as the leaders met on Saturday.

Mr Trump had stepped away for a meeting with the Indonesian president. BBC Diplomatic Correspondent James Robbins said he could recall no similar precedent for Ms Trump standing in.

Ms Trump did not seem to make any major contribution to the key session on African migration and health during her father's absence.

A photograph of her presence tweeted by a Russian attendee - and later deleted - sparked widespread criticism on social media.

Ivanka takes father's place at G20 top table

Image source, Twitter/@LanaLukash

Roundabout route

The plane taking Mr Putin to the summit made a detour of about 500 km (300 miles) to avoid the airspace of several Nato members, data from a flight tracker show.

According to the Flightradar24 website, the Russian presidential aircraft on Thursday did not fly from Moscow to Hamburg using the direct route over the Baltic states and Poland.

Image source, Flightradar24

Instead the Ilyushin Il-96 300PU flew over the Baltic Sea, Finland and Sweden - both neutral countries - before entering the airspace of Nato members Denmark and Germany.

Asked why it had taken that route, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that security during the president's trips was paramount, Reuters news agency said.

He gave no details about any security risks posed by other routes. The region is seen as a flashpoint between Russia and Western allies.

Dominant handshake

Much attention was on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin's first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the G20.

As Mr Trump and Mr Putin shook hands, the US president appeared to assert his authority through what body-language expert Mary Civiello called a "dominant move".

Media caption,

What does body language tell us about the Trump-Putin G20 meeting?

Mistaken identity

After the summit, Mr Trump's social media team posted a picture on his Instagram account with a rather glaring error.

The president was shown sitting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, but the initial caption initially identified him as Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

The mistake led to a flood of scornful comments, and was later rectified.