Awkward International Relations of the Day: Putin Drapes First Lady of China in Shawl

The A in APEC should stand for "awkward," because that's what this week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing was all about.

There was a very strange handshake between Japan's prime minister and the Chinese president. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted each other with some sort of elbow grab, and both leaders managed to offend the Chinese in their own ways, including Obama chewing gum upon entry to the event, and what has quickly become the most talked about moment: Putin randomly draping the first lady of China Peng Liyuan in a shawl.

She accepted the gift, but almost immediately removed it (around 40 seconds into the video). Sorry Vlad.



Within a few hours after the clip aired on live TV and was passed around on Twitter, censors attempted to remove all traces of the moment from both mainstream outlets and social media, according to Foreign Policy.

This wasn't Putin's first awkward "shawl moment." He also draped German Chancellor Merkel at the G20 Summit in 2013.

Beware world leaders: newly-single, bare-chested, horseback-riding Putin is officially on the prowl for your wives.