Russia: Panic in Kremlin as top minister goes AWOL amid fears of purge | World | News
Russia’s veteran Foreign Minister was notable for his absence from an important Kremlin meeting, leading to heated speculation about his whereabouts. Fears of a brutal purge by Putin grew last year following the mysterious deaths of a number of prominent officials and businessmen.
Some inexplicably committed “suicide” by jumping out of windows or were found shot or hung from trees. Perhaps the most shocking incident was the death of Roman Starovoit, who was found dead with a gunshot wound next to his car in July. His death coincided with his dismissal from his government post as transport minister.
The circumstances surrounding Starovoit’s death are still disputed; Investigators say he killed himself just after Putin reportedly fired him on Monday, July 7.
However, Russian media claimed that the minister may have died three days ago on Friday evening.
Now there are question marks regarding the fate of Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov. The 76-year-old notably did not attend the important Security Council meeting on November 5, where Putin discussed the revival of nuclear tests last carried out in 1990.
Sources told Russian outlet Kommersant that although Lavrov was the only permanent member of the session missing, his absence was “coordinated”.
The Secretary of State is believed to have fallen out of favor following a failed meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in October.
As a result of the call, a peace summit is planned to be held between Putin and Russia. Donald Trump It was canceled in Budapest.
The tense phone call convinced the United States that Russia was not willing to make significant concessions toward a peace deal in Ukraine.
Lavrov was also briefly removed from his position as head of Russia’s delegation at this year’s G20 summit.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that he would be replaced by vice president Maxim Oreshkin. Putin will also skip the summit in South Africa, where he faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
