THE Taoiseach, the Tanaiste and a Minister of State, were brave people to line up on the tarmac at Shannon awaiting a Russian leader on a stopover between the old world and the new. As Bertie Ahern, Mary Harney and Tom Kitt looked at the red carpet they must have remembered the disaster of October 1994 when half the cabinet were stood up by Boris Yeltsin, much to the amusement of those watching the event live on the box. Maybe Bertie told his two colleagues all about it. He was there, and suffered the embarrassment with then taoiseach, Albert Reynolds.
On Tuesday things went more satisfactorily. But there was plenty of potential for trouble. Firstly, our people were late arriving - a meetings with Gerry Adams in Dublin had overrun - so Yevgeny Primakov's giant Ilyushin 62 had to circle, a bit like Boris last time, until the Government jet was on the ground. All went well up to the goodbyes and Mrs Primakov's return from Bunratty. The Irish party headed back to Dublin in a hurry, so Bertie could take Taoiseach's questions in the Dail before leaving for the Berlin Summit believing all was well.
But the Russian aircraft didn't budge. In fact it stayed on the Tarmac for a good hour and 10 minutes after they left. The Russian PM was calling Al Gore in Washington to discuss Kosovo and changed his US visit plans.
The 1994 stopover was more dramatic. When Albert was stood up, amid speculation of a coup on board and an Irish burial for Boris, it was believed by most people, including the foolish-looking would-be greeters, that Boris had had one vodka too many. Later the Express, in a self-termed exclusive, said that no, on this occasion, the drink was not to blame. One of his bodyguards had told the Express's man in Moscow that the plane had a bumpy landing and Boris fell spectacularly backwards, landing in a heap in the aisle. He'd had a few all right, said the bodyguard, but that was normal. His eyes glazed over, he stopped breathing and looked like dying. He was, in short, unable to face the Irish.