Why do some leaders prefer to sit behind Putin's 6-meter table?

According to the Euronews, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not allow Russian officials to conduct the PCR test before meeting with Putin. According to German officials, the Russian side officially stated that only negative test result, conducted in Russia can provide a permit to meet with Putin without social distancing.

French officials also said that French President Emmanuel Macron had not met some of the requirements for a meeting with his Russian counterpart to reinforce speculation that he also refused to undergo a PCR test before meeting Putin, leading to speculation he didn’t want the Russian swab either.

The speculation arose that they were trying to keep genetic material out of Russia’s hands.

But is the genetic information of politicians very sensitive in terms of security and is it's disclosure risky?

What information does DNA contain?

DNA is the name of a chemical compound that contains a set of genetic data and information and hereditary characteristics of living organisms, information that is crucial for the growth, evolution, survival, reproduction and other functions of organisms. DNA is present in every cell of the body and can be extracted from several methods, one of which is the examination of the nasal mucosa.

A sample of nasal mucosa extracted in the PCR test contains thousands of DNAs of the individual being tested, said Kenny Beckman - Director of the Genomics Center at the University of Minnesota. 

Each person's DNA is unique. It can be used to find the answer to the question from which part of ​​the earth the ancestors of the person originally came from, or to identify unknown relatives. DNA also contains information that indicates whether a person suffers from a specific genetic disease or has certain genetic abnormalities that are related to the disease or medical care.

However, in forensic science, DNA can also be used to identify the accused or analyze evidence from crime scenes and elsewhere.

How can the DNA be used against world leaders?

“You can use DNA to identify disease risk, so (the world leaders) might be at risk for a disease,” said Howard McLeod, a genetics expert and director of precision medicine at the Florida-based Geriatric Oncology Consortium. “You could look and see if there could be some ancestry elements that could be exploited.”

But in general, he said, the idea of learning more about someone like a world leader through DNA probably “seems a lot more scary than it is in reality.”

Beckman said it seemed “farfetched” to think that the information gathered could be politically damaging.

“What are you going to do, say that Macron has a slightly higher risk of blood pressure?” Beckman asked. “But then I don’t spend a lot of time trying to dream up ways to weaponize someone’s genetic information.”

George Annas, a bioethicist who has written extensively about the importance of genetic privacy, wants to make one thing clear: “DNA is not magic. It’ll give you some information, but it’s not going to tell you how you can assassinate somebody.”

But even without the capability to build an individually targeted bioweapon, the power of suggestion can be enough to compromise world leaders, and Russia has been known to employ kompromat — blackmailing someone by threatening to release embarrassing information about them.

According to a White House official, when dignitaries visit U.S. President Joe Biden, they are required to be tested. The White House makes itself available as a testing option, but most leaders arrange for their own, which the White House is fine with.

Biden is also constantly tested for coronavirus, both on domestic and foreign trips, but the sampling and data processing is done exclusively by the White House Medical Unit.

However, the U.S. government has allegedly dabbled in collecting the DNA of foreign leaders. Obama-era diplomatic cables revealed by Wikileaks instructed U.S. diplomats in select African countries to collect “fingerprints, facial images, DNA, and iris scans” from “key and emerging” officials, including religious and business leaders.

But you never know where your DNA might end up: a few years ago, an anonymous group calling themselves the Earnest Project claimed to have grabbed DNA from a bunch of world leaders who attended the Davos summit. The group said they would put the samples up for auction as a statement about the perils of surveillance capitalism, but the auction was delayed because of legal concerns and seemingly never rescheduled. The group did not respond to a request for comment by the Associated Press.