By Michel Rose

PARIS (Reuters). Emmanuel Macron, the French president, refused a request from Russia to take a COVID-19 Russian test. He arrived in Paris this week to meet President Vladimir Putin. Two sources within Macron’s entourage said that he was kept away from Putin.

Images of Macron and Putin seated at opposite ends of a 4-meter-long table (13 feet) were captured by observers.

Two sources who are familiar with the French president’s health protocol told Reuters that Macron was given a choice. He could either accept a PCR test by Russian authorities, and be allowed to meet Putin, or he could refuse and have to adhere to stricter social distancing.

“We understood very well that it meant no handshake, and that there was no long table. We could not believe that they would get the president’s DNA,” a source told Reuters. This was in reference to security concerns if Russian doctors were involved.

A Kremlin spokesperson did not respond immediately to Reuters’ request for comment.

A second source from Macron’s entourage said that Macron refused to undergo a Russian PCR test. A source claimed that Macron had taken a French PCR before departing and an antigen testing done once he was in Russia by his own doctor.

According to the second source, “The Russians said that Putin should be kept inside a strict health bubble.”

Three days after Macron’s meeting with Putin, the Russian leader was greeted by Kassym Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakh. They shook hands and sat next to one another, separated only by a small table.