As one of the last guests, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (72) arrived on Tuesday morning at the start of the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali. Indonesian President Joko Widodo (61) greeted the grinning Lavrov with a slap on the arm and a long handshake.
Because of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the eyes of the meeting of the 20 leading industrialized and emerging countries are mainly focused on Lavrov, who is replacing Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin (70).
Lavrov will perform several times
According to Lavrov, he is planning several appearances at the G20 meeting on Tuesday and planned to leave again in the evening, according to information from Russian state media.
Earlier reports had circulated in Bali that the 72-year-old Russian – one of the world’s longest serving foreign ministers – had to be hospitalized after his arrival on Sunday.
Ukraine war is condemned
The summit focuses mainly on Russia’s war against Ukraine and the economic consequences, such as the sharp rise in energy prices around the world. In a video published Monday, Lavrov said: “We will accept the final statement tomorrow.”
According to information from the German News Agency, despite Moscow’s initial resistance, the EU and western states have managed to get Russia’s war against Ukraine sharply condemned in the text. (SDA/euc)