Even without a tie, the new Greek leader seemed comfortable and relaxed as he entered the ugly concrete box where Brussels summitry is conducted.
It's the first time he's met all 27 of his EU peers since Syriza's convincing win in last month's Greek elections.
But a few hours ago, the atmosphere between the Eurozone's finance ministers was anything but cordial.
A source present at the Eurogroup negotiations told Sky News that an argument flared over a single word, but one which has become central to the entire stand-off.
The new government in Athens argues the current bailout conditions are stifling growth and causing a humanitarian crisis.
They are trying to get some money to tide them over this summer while they enter complex negotiations over a third of the most stringent demands made by the lenders.
The Greek delegation led by Yanis Varoufakis had insisted that any written conclusions over what they term a "bridging loan" for Greece - after the rescue package expires in a fortnight - should contain the word "amended".
To the Germans, and some of the other hardliners, that inferred Greece's creditors had been convinced to disburse cash under less onerous conditions.
When he read this, German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble became visibly irritated, insisting the word be changed to "extended".
The Greeks refused to budge and the evening hit the buffers.
After fruitless attempts to find a compromise, Mr Schauble concluded that a compromise would be impossible, according to our source.
Today's summit was hoping to hear some good news about Greece, but it looks as though a new form of words will have to be sought before the next group of ministers meeting next Monday.
