In an interview with French television channel TF1, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressed speculations regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s supposed sickness.
The journalist told the minister that the Russian president was “ill, that he was unhappy since his initial plan was not carried out,” according to the rumors.
Putin appears in public every day, according to Lavrov, who may watch him on TV, read his remarks, and listen to them. Putin’s health is not deteriorating, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“I don’t believe reasonable individuals can perceive any evidence of illness or disease in this guy. I’ll leave it to the conscience of those who propagate such rumors to verify what certain people look like, even if they can see it with their own eyes “According to Lavrov.
Those in the West who are concerned about Putin’s health should call the president’s foreign visitors, including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, according to Lavrov, who recommended them to contact the president’s foreign guests.
In March, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that his Russian counterpart was in his best shape. According to Lukashenko, all reports of Putin’s alleged health problems were rumors that Western countries spread to undermine Putin’s authority.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin had never contracted coronavirus during the entire period of the pandemic and was revaccinated in a timely manner.
In the above-mentioned interview, Lavrov also gave his assessment to the course of the special military operation in Ukraine. The journalist asked him whether it could be regarded as Russia’s success or failure. Sergei Lavrov stressed that Moscow was not considering its actions in the international arena as Russia’s intention to strive for success or approval. Instead, Moscow is doing what it has to do — Russia is protecting its people and language while exterminating Nazism.
The minister recalled that for many years Russia had been urging Western colleagues to force Ukraine to comply with international treaties and conventions to which it had acceded. However, Russia had not received support. Moscow had announced a security threat on its borders long before the operation began, but the West ignored Moscow’s calls yet again, Lavrov said.
Lavrov also recalled Moscow’s demands during the special military operation in Ukraine. Russia was protecting civilians in the Donbass, while the West was making Ukraine a Russia’s enemy. Therefore, Russia decided to protect the Russian language and the Russian people living on the Ukrainian territory.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a special military operation in the Donbass. The decision followed the recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.