Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on November 7 that media reports about Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov losing support are completely untrue.
When asked whether Sergei Lavrov would continue to hold the role of Russian Foreign Minister, Mr. Peskov replied: "Certainly. Of course, Mr. Lavrov is the Secretary of State."
For two consecutive weeks, the Russian Foreign Ministry has not disclosed the tour plans and speeches of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for the next working week.
These developments have raised speculation that Mr. Lavrov may have lost the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin due to the failed plan to host the Russia-US summit in Budapest, Hungary.
The Moscow Times, an independent newspaper based in the Netherlands, reported on November 6 that President Vladimir Putin no longer respects Minister Lavrov and that the minister did not appear in public after the US suddenly canceled the summit with Russia in Budapest.
Rumors continued to spread on social media after Sergei Lavrov was absent from the Kremlin on November 5 when President Vladimir Putin announced the consideration of resuming nuclear weapons testing. According to Russia's Kommersant newspaper, Mr. Lavrov's absence from this meeting was pre-allowed.
Information on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website shows that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's most recent public appearance was on October 28, when he attended the Minsk International Conference on Asia- Europe Security in the capital of Belarus.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will also not lead the Russian delegation at this year's G20 summit, although he has often held the role. This week, the Kremlin announced that Deputy Chief of Staff of the Office of President Maxim Oreshkin will represent Russia at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa at the end of November.
In late October, the Financial Times reported that the US decided to cancel the meeting in Budapest after a phone call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, due to Russia's tough stance.
Mr. Lavrov spoke to Mr. Rubio by phone on October 20 to discuss the possibility of holding a summit between President Putin and President Donald Trump a few days after Mr. Trump announced this information after a phone call with Mr. Putin. However, after the phone call between the two foreign ministers, the US side announced the cancellation of the summit in Hungary.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is currently 76 years old. He has been head of the Russian Foreign Ministry for the past 21 years.
