Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was hospitalized after arriving in Bali, Indonesia for the G20 summit, multiple Indonesian officials told the Associated Press Monday.
Four Indonesian government and medical officials told the AP, anonymously, that Lavrov was hospitalized at the Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar. Two of them said he received treatment for a heart condition.
Bali Governor I Wayan Koster told Reuters that Lavrov visited the hospital for a check-up, and that he was in good health.
However, Russia is denying that Lavrov was taken to the hospital.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the report the “height of fake news” and posted a video of Lavrov dismissing reports about him falling ill.
“Well, it’s been written about our president for 10 years now that he fell ill. This is such a game that is not new in politics,” Lavrov said.
Russia’s state news agency Tass also reported that Lavrov told them he was in his hotel “reading materials for the summit tomorrow.”
Lavrov is attending the G-20 summit in place of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had said previously he would not attend the meeting.
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is among the top issues to be discussed at the two day summit beginning on Tuesday. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the summit virtually.
