Lavrov's Absence from Kremlin Meeting Sparks Speculation on His Standing with Putin

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's recent absence from a high-profile meeting at the Kremlin has sparked speculation about his standing with President Vladimir Putin. Despite denials from the Kremlin, rumors have been circulating about potential tensions between Lavrov and Putin. Lavrov, who is 75 years old, has been a veteran diplomat since the Soviet era and is known for his tough negotiating style. He has served as Russia's foreign minister for over two decades. According to Reuters, Lavrov did not attend an important meeting at the Kremlin this week, which he would typically be expected to attend. Additionally, Putin has chosen other representatives to attend the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa later this month. Over the past two weeks, the Russian Foreign Ministry has not published any information about Lavrov's upcoming visits or public speeches. These developments have led to speculation that Lavrov might have fallen out of favor with Putin, possibly due to the cancellation of a planned meeting between Putin and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Hungary. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied these rumors on Friday, November 7, stating that there is no tension between Lavrov and Putin and that Lavrov remains in his position as foreign minister. In recent months, there have been attempts to arrange a meeting between Putin and Trump, but these plans were eventually canceled. After Trump's phone call with Putin in October, he mentioned plans to meet again in Hungary, but later backtracked, citing poor timing. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has sought to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine and improve relations with Moscow. However, progress on the Russian-Ukrainian peace process has been slow, leading to public expressions of frustration from Trump towards Putin. Media reports suggest that Washington canceled the planned summit in Hungary after Russia signaled it had no intention of making concessions on the Ukraine issue. The Financial Times cited sources as saying that Lavrov's conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Rubio may have contributed to Washington's hesitation. One source described Lavrov as appearing exhausted and seemingly more focused on other priorities than engaging with the United States, regardless of Putin's wishes. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova hinted on Friday that The Financial Times' report was aimed at stirring unfavorable speculation about Moscow, describing it as part of a broader campaign against Russia.