Russian Foreign Minister Denies Reports He Was Hospitalized in Indonesia Ahead of G20

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shakes hands with Indonesia's President Joko Widodo as he arrives for the G20 leaders' summit in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Nov. 15, 2022. Kevin Lamarque/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that a report claiming he had been hospitalized in Indonesia due to a heart condition was “fake news,” adding that it was a political ploy ahead of the Group of 20 (G-20) summit.

“They [Western media] have been claiming that our president is sick for some 10 years. It is a game, which is nothing new in politics,” Lavrov said in a video posted by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Twitter.

A previous report by Associated Press indicated that Lavrov was admitted to a hospital after arriving in Bali on Sunday for the G-20 summit, citing four Indonesian government and medical officials.

One of the officials, Bali Governor I Wayan Koster, told the news outlet that Lavrov was taken to Sanglah hospital in Bali for “a health checkup” and then left. The Russian minister was in good health, the governor said.

‘Aerobatics of Fakes’

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova later denied the report, saying that she was with Lavrov in Indonesia.

“This is, of course, the aerobatics of fakes,” she wrote via the Telegram messaging app, without confirming whether Lavrov had visited the hospital for a health checkup.

Lavrov, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, appeared to be in good health in a video released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday. The minister said that he was getting ready for the G-20 summit at the hotel.

“I have to make a few speeches tomorrow, and we are to adopt the final declaration,” he said, adding that he received a call from the Indonesian foreign minister informing him that “talks are being finalized.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends the first working session of the G20 leaders' summit in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Nov. 15, 2022. Kevin Lamarque/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Lavrov is representing Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit and is expected to hear stinging rebukes from within the G-20 over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls “a special military operation.”

Ukraine isn’t a G-20 member but has been invited by host Indonesia as an observer. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the meeting virtually.

U.S. President Joe Biden landed in Bali on Sunday after the conclusion of the ASEAN-East Asia Summit in Cambodia. He is expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time at the G-20 summit.

The regional summit in Cambodia concluded on Sunday without a joint statement as Russia and the United States were unable to agree on the language, raising the possibility that the G-20 won’t either this week.

Lavrov said the United States and its allies have insisted on “absolutely unacceptable language regarding the situation in Ukraine” and blamed the United States for dividing the 10-member ASEAN.

The White House reported that Biden had raised concerns about North Korea’s missile tests and condemned Russia’s “brutal and unjust war against Ukraine in the strongest terms.”

Reuters contributed to this report.