--- title: See 8 of the Most Awkward Political Handshakes description: Photos capture a three-way handshake, icy expressions, and more from political encounters around the world. canonical: https://time.com/4112057/awkward-politicial-handshakes-g20-apec/ author: TIME Photo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-13T20:28:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:57.880Z article:section: Politics og:title: 8 Awkward Handshakes Between World Leaders og:description: Whoever said diplomacy was easy? og:url: https://time.com/4112057/awkward-politicial-handshakes-g20-apec/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 8 Awkward Handshakes Between World Leaders twitter:description: Whoever said diplomacy was easy? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # See 8 of the Most Awkward Handshakes Between World Leaders by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Nov 13, 2015 8:28 PM UTC by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Nov 13, 2015 8:28 PM UTC  U.S. President Barack Obama, from left, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe share a three-way handshake at the G-20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia on Nov. 16, 2014. Ian Waldie—AP  Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, right, tries to shake hands with U.S. Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner as then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton passes through during the US-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue in Beijing on May 24, 2010. Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images  U.S. President Barack Obama extends a hand to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 28, 2015. Kevin Lamarque— Reuters  Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, during their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings on Nov. 10, 2014 in Beijing. Kim Kyung-Hoon—Press Pool  U.S. President Barack Obama welcomes Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, of Bahrain, while hosting leaders and delegations from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries at the White House in Washington on May 13, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany during D-Day anniversary celebrations on June 6, 2014 in Deauville, France. Sasha Mordovets—Getty Images  Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, left, meets Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People on Aug. 26, 2014 in Beijing. Diego Azubel—Press Pool  Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama shake hands at the G20 summit in Saint Petersburg on Sept. 5, 2013. Eric Feferberg—AFP/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4112057/awkward-politicial-handshakes-g20-apec/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4112057/awkward-politicial-handshakes-g20-apec/"},"headline":"See 8 of the Most Awkward Handshakes Between World Leaders","datePublished":"2015-11-13T20:28:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:57.880Z","description":"Whoever said diplomacy was easy?","url":"https://time.com/4112057/awkward-politicial-handshakes-g20-apec/","keywords":["Politicians","Barack Obama","Xi Jinping","Photos","photography","Vladamir Putin","angela merkel","Leaders","APEC"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politicians/","name":"Politicians"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4112057/awkward-politicial-handshakes-g20-apec/","name":"See 8 of the Most Awkward Handshakes Between World Leaders"}}]}] ```