Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese prez Xi Jinping turn chefs, flip pancakes in Russia

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping took a break from their busy schedule and were seen flipping pancakes together on the sidelines of an international forum in Russia.

Donning navy blue aprons, Putin invited Xi for a cooking challenge and the two leaders were seen pouring batter and tossing Russian pancakes, called `bini`.

The Chinese President`s perfectly-shaped pancakes were hailed by Putin as "very neat".

Xi is leading a delegation of nearly 1,000 Chinese business people and officials to the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia`s Far East city of Vladivostok. The conference, conceived by Putin, is aimed at encouraging foreign investment, The New York Post reported.

After holding deliberations, the Russian leader invited Xi to show off his culinary skills at the Sea of Japan waterfront, where they prepared the pancakes, consuming them with caviar and a shot of vodka.

This was not the first time that Putin and Xi were engaged in "pancake diplomacy." Earlier in June, Putin, who was on a visit to China, prepared a Chinese pancake, which Xi later tasted.