Pecking order --- John, if the President of Switzerland goes on an official visit to Austria, the Austrian President will receive him at the airport. If the same Swiss President goes on a visit to Washington, Beijing or Moscow, odds are that the US, Chinese or Russian Foreign Ministers will receive him. But if Biden, Xi Jinping or Putin come to Bern, the Swiss President will be at the airport. This is normal procedure in the diplomatic world.

Source author: Jean-Michel Monod jmmonod@yahoo.com