The talks in Moscow between President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart focused on the very hot topic of Syria’s Idlib, but some claimed things got steamy in another, unexpected way. That’s at least according to some Turkish media outlets that rolled out the, frankly, bizarre story in the aftermath.

Journalists at Yol TV apparently misheard Lavrov’s remark made after Thursday’s joint Putin-Erdogan press conference, interpreting it as “I love you, Tayyip” – something that then inspired an entire piece on the incident, and further reposts.

Lavrov, leaning towards Erdogan’s ear, said “I love you, Tayyip.”

On Friday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry decided to chime in and dot all the ‘i’s, pointing to the anticlimactic truth: what Lavrov said was a throwaway phrase commending the Turkish leader’s... tie. The ministry even enclosed a screenshot from the Yol TV broadcast with the unlikely subtitle, noting that “in the video one can clearly hear that the Minister says ‘I love your tie.’”