Russian Sergei Lavrov is taken to hospital ‘for a heart problem’ after arriving at the G20 summit in Bali

The Russian foreign minister was taken to hospital with a heart problem just hours after arriving in Indonesia for the G20 summit, which begins tomorrow.

Sergei Lavrov, 72, was pictured departing a Russian plane in Bali late Sunday evening and was taken to hospital on Monday, according to local officials.

Shortly after, the diplomat posted photos and videos of himself moments after his poor health was announced, showing him sitting by his hotel’s pool before the conference.

Smiling at the camera, he accused Western media of lying about his health, adding that: “It’s a kind of game that’s not new in politics.” They’ve been writing for about 10 years that our president is sick.

Lavrov is attending the G20 in place of Russian President Vladimir Putin who chose not to attend following his failed invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin said Putin was “too busy” to attend, but political analysts in Russia speculated that he was afraid of being humiliated or murdered.

Alexei Malashenko, chief researcher at the Dialogue of Civilizations Institute, said Putin did not want to be publicly humiliated again, recalling that at the Brisbane summit in 2014, Putin was placed at the end of the line. “family photo”.

“At the top, you have to talk to people and be photographed,” Malashenko said.

“And who is he going to talk to and how exactly will he be photographed?”