G20: Russia’s Lavrov dismisses reports he was taken to hospital with heart disease – National

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday dismissed a news agency report that he had been hospitalized with a heart condition, accusing Western journalists of false reporting.

The Associated Press, citing Indonesian officials, said Lavrov was taken to a hospital after arriving in Bali for the G20 summit. said to have received

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “Of course, this is the height of fabrication.

Zakharova posted a video of Lavrov, Putin’s foreign minister since 2004, sitting on an outdoor patio in shorts and a T-shirt reading documents.

Asked about the report, Lavrov said that for a decade, Western journalists had been falsely claiming that the 70-year-old Putin was ill.

“This is not a new game in politics,” Lavrov said with a wry smile. “Western journalists need to be more honest. They need to write the truth.”

Arriving in Bali on Sunday night, Lavrov said the Western media routinely saw only a partial view of events and ignored the Russian perspective.

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Bali Governor Yi Wayan Koster told Reuters that Lavrov was in good health after a brief visit to Bali’s Sangla Hospital for a “health check”.

“He is in good health and was discharged soon after being tested,” the governor said.

The Associated Press did not immediately respond to a request for comment on their story.

Lavrov is Russia’s longest-serving foreign minister since the Soviet era, when Andrei Gromyko was nicknamed “Mr.” Nicknamed ‘Nyet’ in the West for its uncompromising approach, it held that position for 28 years.

A graduate of the prestigious Moscow Institute of International Relations, Lavrov worked as a Soviet diplomat in Sri Lanka and speaks fluent English, French and Sinhalese.

Prior to becoming Foreign Minister, Lavrov was Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations.

Also known as “Doctor”. In the West, he is known for his acerbic remarks, especially of interlocutors he considers ill-prepared.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Lavrov repeatedly denied US and UK claims that Putin was preparing to order an invasion.

After the West imposed the toughest sanctions on Russia in modern history, Lavrov said Russia would turn its back on the United States and its allies and instead expand ties with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.