Kremlin plays down reports of Lavrov-Putin falling out
The Kremlin has dismissed speculation that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has fallen out of favor with Vladimir Putin after efforts to organize a summit between the Russian President and his US counterpart Donald Trump were shelved last month.
Lavrov, 75, a veteran Soviet-era diplomat known for his forceful negotiating style, did not attend the major Kremlin meeting he usually attends this week, and Putin has chosen someone else to attend the G20 summit in South Africa later this month; this was a task Lavrov had undertaken in the past.
For the second week in a row, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not announce Lavrov’s travel plans or speeches for the coming week.
The developments increased speculation that Lavrov, who has served as foreign minister for more than 20 years, may have fallen out of favor with Putin due to the collapse of plans for the summit in Budapest.
Asked on Friday whether Lavrov was in trouble with Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the idea.
“I’ll give you a short answer: There is nothing true in these news,” Peskov told reporters.
When asked to confirm that Lavrov would continue in his current post, Peskov added: “Absolutely. Lavrov is of course working as foreign minister.”
Lavrov spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on October 20 to discuss the possible summit, a few days after Trump announced the summit following a phone call with Putin.
The next day, Trump said he did not want to have a meeting that would be a “waste of time.”
He later said he canceled the summit because it “didn’t feel right.”
Trump has sought rapprochement with Moscow and held a summit with Putin in Alaska in August.
However, while it supported the calls for an immediate ceasefire in the current positions of the forces in Ukraine, Moscow also said that it wanted Kiev to give more territory.
Reuters and other media outlets reported that Washington canceled the new summit after Lavrov’s ministry sent a message saying Moscow was not ready to bow to strict demands on Ukraine.
British newspaper Financial Times quoted a source as saying that Lavrov’s meeting with Rubio was stalling Washington.
“Lavrov is clearly tired and thinks he has better things to do than engage with the US, no matter what Putin wants,” the source was quoted by the FT as saying. he said.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested on Friday that the FT’s article was published to fuel speculation that does not benefit Moscow and to be part of what she called a hybrid war against Russia.
Besides the Ukraine issue, Putin has made clear that he believes rapprochement between Moscow and Washington is important for Russia’s national interest and global security, as the two countries have large nuclear arsenals.
