AP reports Russian FM Lavrov taken to hospital upon arrival at G20 summit, Russia’s ministry denies
Indonesian officials tell media Lavrov treated for heart condition, Russians deny (Photo:Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was reportedly taken to hospital after falling ill on his arrival for the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported on Nov. 14.
Four Indonesian government and medical officials told the Associated Press that Lavrov was receiving treatment at the Sanglah Hospital in the provincial capital, Denpasar.
Two of the people said Lavrov had been treated for a heart condition.
However, there has been no official information about Lavrov’s hospitalization. The Russian Embassy in Indonesia has also not yet commented on the information.
At the same time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova denied that Lavrov had been hospitalized, calling the information about his hospitalization “fake news.”
“Sergey Viktorovich and I are reading the newsfeed here, in Indonesia, and we can’t believe our eyes: it turns out that he’s hospitalized,” she said on the Telegram messenger.
“This is, of course, the aerobatics of fake news.”
Zakharova also posted a video of Lavrov, in which the 72-year-old minister denied reports of his hospitalization.
Meanwhile, as reported by the Reuters news agency, Bali Governor I Wayan Koste confirmed that Lavrov had briefly visited Sanglah Hospital in Bali for a “check-up” but that the minister was in good health.
Lavrov is representing Russia at the G20 summit in Indonesia after Russian dictator Vladimir Putin decided not to attend it allegedly “due to his schedule and the need to stay in Russia.”
At the same time, experts believe Putin’s non-participation in the G20 summit in Indonesia is connected with another Russian defeat in Ukraine – their retreat from the right bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.
Previously, Indonesian President Joko Widodo invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend the G20 summit. The Ukrainian leader in turn said he hoped no Russian representatives would take part in the summit.
He also said that the format of his participation would depend on the situation in the country and at the front.
According to Reuters, the leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies during the summit will denounce the use of, or any threat to use, nuclear weapons and are going to strongly condemn Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.
World leaders will also not pose for a traditional “family photo” at the summit in protest at Russia’s presence.
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