 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Monday denied the media reports of taking Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to hospital with a heart condition and called it the 'height of fakery', several media reported.
Earlier, the Associated Press, citing Indonesian officials, said that the Russian foreign minister has been taken to hospital after arriving in Indonesia.
Soon after this, Zakharova denied the report and said, "This, of course, is the height of fakery," according to Arab News.
Zakharova posted a video of Lavrov sitting outdoors on a patio, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt and reading documents.
Asked about the report, Lavrov said Western journalists had been writing falsely for a decade that Putin was ill.
"This is a kind of game that is not new in politics," Lavrov, 72, said with an ironic smile.
"Western journalists need to be more truthful -- they need to write the truth."
After this news, Bali's Governor, I Wayan Koster, said that Lavrov was in good health and had been in the hospital for a check-up, Arab News reported.
Earlier, Indonesian authorities, on Monday said that the Russian official has been taken to the hospital after suffering a health problem following his arrival for the Group of 20 summits in Bali.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending in person the summit of leaders from the Group of 20 nations (G20) in Bali next week, CNN reported citing the Russian embassy in Indonesia.