At the beginning of June 2023, Russian media and Telegram channels wrote that the President of Ukraine was humiliated: allegedly the head of the Luxembourg government, Xavier Bettel, during an international forum pointed with his fingers that Zelensky should be silent. We decided to check if this is true.

Information messages about Bettel's gesture appeared in the Russian media on June 2, the day after the meeting between the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and the President of Ukraine at the summit in Moldova. On June 3, the news was picked up by most pro-Kremlin media: “RIA Novosti", NTV, "Russian newspaper", Lenta.ru, "Gazeta.ru", RT and many others. Many Telegram channels also wrote about this, for example “Putin on Telegram"(242,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "Pool N3"(203,000), "Ostashko! Important"(118,000). These publications claimed that Bettel showed Zelensky a characteristic gesture, depicting his mouth opening and closing with his hand. In support of this, a video from the meeting was usually posted.

The meeting between Zelensky and Bettel took place on June 1, at Mimi Castle in the Moldovan village of Bulboaca. These days there was summit European Political Community - an event attended by leaders of 45 countries. It was there that the distributed video fragment was filmed. The recording shows that next to Zelensky and Bettel are Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Swiss President Alain Berset and Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic.

In the center, wearing glasses, is Alexander Vucic, on the far right is Vladimir Zelensky, between them is Xavier Bettel, holding them by the shoulders. Source: EU Council

In official protocol video, posted on the EU Council website and filmed immediately after the official photographing ceremony, included only the first episode of communication between Vucic, Zelensky and Bettel. Full version The Associated Press has it. Bettel first brings Zelensky to Vucic and other leaders, with whom the Ukrainian president shakes hands (1:50), then turns to Zelensky and points his finger at the Serbian president (2:12), after which Zelensky says something to Vucic, and then presses his hand to his heart (2:31).

Following this, Zelensky nods, and a group of politicians goes to the venue for negotiations. Zelensky is walking ahead a little to the right, Bettel is next to Vucic. It was at this moment that the Prime Minister of Luxembourg turns to Vucic and Zelensky and makes the same hand gesture: AP shot it from a different angle.

The President of Serbia is considered a pro-Russian politician. For example, in April press conferences Vucic said that supporters of Ukraine and the West are offering him to ruin relations with Vladimir Putin. In addition, he said that Serbia is not going to supply weapons to Ukraine. Serbia also did not join the sanctions imposed against Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It was in this context that the meeting between Vucic and Zelensky took place in Moldova. After news of Bettel’s “humiliating gesture” was published by Russian media, the Luxembourg publication Tageblatt asked the press service of the country's Prime Minister for clarification. Bettel answered himself: he categorically rejected the suggestion of an offensive gesture and explained that at that moment he told Vucic and Zelensky about “how important it is to talk not about each other, but with each other.”

The content of the conversation with Bettel and Zelensky is also confirmed by Alexander Vucic. The day after the summit in Moldova, he told about this meeting on the air of the Serbian TV channel TV Prva. “Why don’t I shake hands with the president of a big country that didn’t recognize Kosovo and didn’t do anything bad to Serbia,” Vucic said. The Serbian president also noted that Zelensky did not talk about sanctions against Russia: “We met for the first time, why should he suddenly talk about sanctions in the second sentence?”

Judging by the statements of the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and the President of Serbia, the interpretation of Xavier Bettel’s gesture as a call to silence addressed to Zelensky in no way corresponds to the context of the meeting in Moldova. This was the first conversation between the leaders of Serbia and Ukraine, which even pro-Russian politician Aleksandar Vucic was pleased with. Bettel's explanation of the gesture as a call to talk more to each other is much more likely than the interpretation mentioned in the Russian media.

Cover photo: EU Council