The annual G20 Summit kicks off in Brisbane on Saturday amid tensions between Western leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.
A showdown is likely following fresh reports of Russian troops pouring into eastern Ukraine. Russia denies sending troops and tanks into the country.
Although meetings between world leaders are usually carefully stage-managed, sometimes it seems impossible for them to disguise their true feelings about each other. During the G20 Summit, picture editors are on the lookout for revealing photos of awkward meetings like these:
US President Barack Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G8 Summit at Lough Erne in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland on 17 June, 2013ReutersUS President Barack Obama meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at Winfield House, the US ambassador's residence in London during the G20 Summit on 1 April, 2009ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel answer journalists' questions during a joint news conference in Moscow's Kremlin on 16 November, 2012ReutersNeither China's President Xi Jinping nor Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looked overly enthusiastic about shaking hands during the Apec Summit in Beijing on 10 November 10, 2014. They held formal talks for the first time since the two leaders took office, a breakthrough in ending a two-year row between Asia's biggest economies over history and territoryReuters
It's not just meetings with other world leaders that can result in awkward political photos. Some politicians, particularly George W Bush and Silvio Berlusconi, have proved perfectly capable of producing inappropriate poses and facial expressions in photo opportunity after photo opportunity.
IBTimes UK rounds up some of the most embarrassing political photos of recent years.
US Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain reacts to almost heading the wrong way off the stage after shaking hands with Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama at the conclusion of the final presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on 15 October, 2008ReutersUS President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron pose for a selfie with Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt during the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg on 10 December, 2013AFPUS President Barack Obama delivers a speech at Nelson Mandela's memorial service on 11 December 2013, while "sign language interpreter" Thamsanqa Jantjie flaps his arms around meaninglesslyAFPUS President Barack Obama misleadingly seems to be checking out 16-year-old Brazilian girl Mayora Tavares as French President Nicolas Sarkozy looks on during the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, on 9 July, 2009ReutersFrance's president Nicolas Sarkozy awards the Chevalier of the French order of Merit to French yachtswoman Maud Fontenoy during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on 12 July, 2007ReutersMember of parliament Michaela Biancofiore squeezes Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's chin at the Parliament in Rome on 3 August, 2011AFP"Call me, maybe?" Maybe not. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gestures during a right-wing youth party meeting in Rome on 9 September, 2009ReutersUS President George W Bush gives back a crying baby that was handed to him from the crowd as he arrived for an outdoor dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Trinwillershagen on 13 July, 2006ReutersUS President George W Bush reacts as he tries to open a locked door after a news conference in Beijing on 20 November, 2005ReutersGeorge W Bush has pecker trouble as a turkey named "Liberty" surprises him at the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardoning event at the White House, on 19 November, 2001ReutersUS President George W Bush dances with Senegalese performers from the West African Dance Company during an event marking Malaria Awareness Day, in the Rose Garden of the White House on 15 April, 2007ReutersRepublican presidential nominee Texas Governor George W Bush gives Oprah Winfrey an awkward kiss after appearing on her show on 19 September 2000AFPUS President George W Bush sports an abrasion he suffered after apparently choking on a pretzel and falling onto the floor from a couch while watching a football game on televisionReutersUS President George W Bush writes a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice requesting permission to go the bathroom, during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations in New York on 14 September, 2005ReutersThe photo that will haunt George W Bush for the rest of his life: standing under a banner declaring "Mission Accomplished" aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which had just returned from combat operations in the GulfAFPFormer vice-president Al Gore speaks to four-year-old Jessica Guzman at the opening of Echo Park, a centre for homeless children in New York, on 30 April, 2003GettyDemocratic presidential candidate and Vice President Al Gore kisses his wife Tipper rather enthusiastically as he arrives on stage during the last day of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles on 17 August, 2000ReutersUS President Bill Clinton's dog, Buddy, greets him as he arrives with first lady Hillary at the White House on 15 August, 2000. This photo went viral with the caption "We can call her Monica"ReutersUS Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton seems to be eyeing the US Capitol Building after a model of it was presented to her as an award on 15 February, 2007ReutersRight-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders turns his nose up at the annual Budget debate in the Dutch House of Representatives in The Hague on 17 September, 2009AFPIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts an unfortunate shadow onto German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a joint press conference in Jerusalem on 25 February, 2014AFP
