Biden waves to Putin after forgetting to turn on mic during high-stakes video call

US President Joe Biden fumbled with his microphone at the beginning of a high-stakes video call with Vladimir Putin, awkwardly waving to his Russian counterpart during the silence.

“Greetings, Mr President,” Putin said in Russian, only to be met with silence on the other end of the line.

After a few seconds, Biden leans forward and presses a button, appearing to turn his mic on.

“There you go,” he said, suddenly audible, chuckling and waving to Putin.

Sign up to our breaking news email alerts here.