Tass, the Russian state news agency, also published a photo of a smiling Lavrov by a swimming pool. Wayan Koster, the governor of Bali, told Reuters that Lavrov had visited the hospital for what he said was a check-up and that the minister was in good health. The two AP officials cited in their report named the hospital where Mr. Lavrov was taken and said he was being treated for a heart condition. The Russian diplomat who has served as foreign minister since 2004 went to Bali as the head of the Russian delegation after President Vladimir Putin decided not to go himself. Mr Lavrov, known as a heavy smoker and whiskey drinker, petitioned against a smoking ban at the United Nations building during his secondment there in the 1990s. His spokeswoman, however, said a few years ago that Mr Lavrov had cut down on smoking and only had “two cigarettes a day” these days. Just a few months before the invasion, Mr. Lavrov during a trip to Norway received a glass decanter as a gift from the rector of Norway’s Arctic University, who assured Mr. Lavrov that it was for whiskey, not water as he feared. As someone who tried to tout the smoking ban at the UN, Mr Lavrov was known to have rebelled against mandatory mask use during the coronavirus pandemic. In the few one-on-one meetings with Western colleagues at the height of the pandemic, Mr Lavrov usually pushed the mask up to his chin and during a visit to China last year he wore a mask emblazoned with an anti-lockdown slogan. Although he has served as foreign minister for nearly two decades, Mr. Lavrov is not considered part of President Putin’s inner circle. Mr Lavrov publicly mocked Western media and officials for making multiple warnings about an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine. Several Western officials have said they believe Lavrov was not informed of Putin’s plans until days before the attack. Some Russian commentators on Monday noticed an iPhone on Mr. Lavrov’s desk and what looked like an AppleWatch on his wrist. Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political scientist and former lawmaker, expressed his frustration on Monday: “Everyone is surprised why Sergey Lavrov uses an AppleWatch and an iPhone. I mean, they’re being watched by the US Secret Service, aren’t they?’
