i would guess it's to distract from the fact that the rest of the headline reads "europe's leaders try to reduce dependence on trump" and they don't want their audience thinking too hard about what those words mean when all put together like that.

it gives the impression that the new york times is offering a glimpse at an important diplomatic meeting where lots of important powerful people are talking and making big important decisions about how to maybe eventually attempt to be less wholly subjugated by trump and the american empire. a new york times subscriber likely considers themselves to be a "foodie" and wants to hear about the menu at what they like to imagine to be a modern-day potsdam conference.