© www.theguardian.comEton meets Putin
Ministers wait hours for an audience with Vladimir Putin, CEOs sit nervously for months hoping for a summons to see him, and even Donald Trump was stood up during a 2013 visit to Moscow and told Putin was too busy to see him. There was no such problem for
a group of 11 Eton schoolboys, however, who flew to Moscow and were met by the Russian president in the Kremlin last week, stopping to take a group photo inside the seat of Russian power with their best "massive banter" poses.
Putin, who is notoriously difficult to access and is frequently hours late to meetings with other world leaders, apparently
devoted two hours of his time to discuss world affairs with the Eton boys, proving that attending the elite boarding school is useful for opening doors not only in Britain.
The schoolboys have beaten both the prime minister, Theresa May, and Eton alumnus Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, to a meeting with Putin. May is expected to meet the Russian president on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China next week.
David Wei, one of those present at the meeting, wrote on Facebook:
"It took me a total of 10 months, 1,040 emails, 1,000 text messages, countless sleepless nights, constant paranoia during A2 exam season, declining academic performance ... but here we are. Guys, we truly gave Putin a deep impression of us and he responded by showing us his human face."
Comment: So, who's on first? Levels of enemies. Levels of allies. Some mix and match. Today, bomb them. Tomorrow, don't. Confusing? Yah! Nice mess, USA. The best idea would have been hands-off in the first place. That didn't happen. The devil will be in the details, should this deal materialize.