Vladimir Putin was caught on camera pulling strange faces during a high-profile meeting. The Russian president was sitting alongside close ally Aleksandr Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, on Monday 29 January. While Putin usually cuts a stony-faced demeanour, he repeatedly sprung into wide-eyed gazes and other unusual facial expressions. One shot shows him with his eyebrows raised high as if in shock, while another has him with eyes wide and lips smacked together. The two leaders met in St Petersburg, Russia, to discuss how they could deepen their close alliance.