A candid exchange between two of the world’s most powerful leaders has been exposed at the G20 Summit.

Much of the focus of the Summit in Hamburg has been on the interaction between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, reports news.com.au.

But host German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been front and centre too.

Cameras at the event have caught a curious face-to-face encounter between President Putin and Chancellor Merkel in which the German leader appears to roll her eyes in response to something the Russian strongman had to say.

Chancellor Merkel said she would not hold back with her fellow leaders prior to the Summit.

‘We are not going to paper over the differences but rather, we will call discord discord,’ she said.

Russia’s support of the Assad regime in Syrian has upset a number of nations, while there are fears the claims of Kremlin interference in the US election could spread to other countries.

President Trump failed to shake hands with Chancellor Merkel during an Oval Office photo opportunity earlier this year.