‘Minister No': Lavrov embodies Moscow’s steely posture
‘Minister No': Lavrov embodies Moscow’s steely posture
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stand while waiting for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to their talks at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany, July 8, 2017. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Russian Federation Ambassador Sergey Lavrov smokes while walking to the United Nations Security Council to attend the Council’s meeting about Iraq on , Nov 13, 1998. Before becoming the foreign minister, he served as Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations for 10 years and liked to have informal chats with journalists, trading news and jokes over a cigarette at the U.N. corridors. (AP Photo/Adam Nadel, File)
FILE - Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov addresses the United Nations Security Council late Thursday, June 8, 2000, at U.N. headquarters. Before becoming the foreign minister, he served as Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations for 10 years and liked to have informal chats with journalists, trading news and jokes over a cigarette at the U.N. corridors. (AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin, File)
FILE - Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, addresses a summit on the Millennium Development Goals at United Nations headquarters on Sept. 21, 2010. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, fights for the ball during a soccer friendly match to mark the Day of Russia holiday, Moscow, June 12, 2006. Like his boss, Lavrov has tapped into broad public nostalgia for the country’s Soviet-era clout. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Vasily Petrov, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov listens to a question during a news conference, after his meeting with Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary-general of the Council of Europe in Moscow, Russia, May 17, 2011. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump, right, greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, prior his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, during the G20 summit in Hamburg Germany in July 7, 2017. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prepare to toast at a ceremony of receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on April 11, 2018. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prepares to take a question during his and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry joint news conference following the talks in Moscow, Russia, May 14, 2018. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, top, as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi sits next during a plenary session at the Russia-Africa summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Oct. 24, 2019. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Valery Sharifulin, TASS News Agency Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a joint news conference with Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prepare to toast at a ceremony of receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, April 11, 2018. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at the ‘Villa la Grange’, June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland. Prospects for meaningful diplomacy between the United States and Russia on any number of fronts are grim as the two countries are locked in their worst confrontation since the Soviet-era Cuban Missile Crisis over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before their meeting, in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 21, 2022.Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool, File)
FILE - Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wait for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the statue of Russian czar Peter the Great in the background, in the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, March 5, 2020. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, Pool, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 14, 2022. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stand while waiting for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to their talks at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany, July 8, 2017. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stand while waiting for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to their talks at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany, July 8, 2017. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Russian Federation Ambassador Sergey Lavrov smokes while walking to the United Nations Security Council to attend the Council’s meeting about Iraq on , Nov 13, 1998. Before becoming the foreign minister, he served as Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations for 10 years and liked to have informal chats with journalists, trading news and jokes over a cigarette at the U.N. corridors. (AP Photo/Adam Nadel, File)
FILE - Russian Federation Ambassador Sergey Lavrov smokes while walking to the United Nations Security Council to attend the Council’s meeting about Iraq on , Nov 13, 1998. Before becoming the foreign minister, he served as Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations for 10 years and liked to have informal chats with journalists, trading news and jokes over a cigarette at the U.N. corridors. (AP Photo/Adam Nadel, File)
FILE - Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov addresses the United Nations Security Council late Thursday, June 8, 2000, at U.N. headquarters. Before becoming the foreign minister, he served as Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations for 10 years and liked to have informal chats with journalists, trading news and jokes over a cigarette at the U.N. corridors. (AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin, File)
FILE - Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov addresses the United Nations Security Council late Thursday, June 8, 2000, at U.N. headquarters. Before becoming the foreign minister, he served as Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations for 10 years and liked to have informal chats with journalists, trading news and jokes over a cigarette at the U.N. corridors. (AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin, File)
FILE - Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, addresses a summit on the Millennium Development Goals at United Nations headquarters on Sept. 21, 2010. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, addresses a summit on the Millennium Development Goals at United Nations headquarters on Sept. 21, 2010. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, fights for the ball during a soccer friendly match to mark the Day of Russia holiday, Moscow, June 12, 2006. Like his boss, Lavrov has tapped into broad public nostalgia for the country’s Soviet-era clout. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Vasily Petrov, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, fights for the ball during a soccer friendly match to mark the Day of Russia holiday, Moscow, June 12, 2006. Like his boss, Lavrov has tapped into broad public nostalgia for the country’s Soviet-era clout. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Vasily Petrov, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov listens to a question during a news conference, after his meeting with Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary-general of the Council of Europe in Moscow, Russia, May 17, 2011. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov listens to a question during a news conference, after his meeting with Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary-general of the Council of Europe in Moscow, Russia, May 17, 2011. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump, right, greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, prior his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, during the G20 summit in Hamburg Germany in July 7, 2017. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump, right, greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, prior his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, during the G20 summit in Hamburg Germany in July 7, 2017. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prepare to toast at a ceremony of receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on April 11, 2018. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prepare to toast at a ceremony of receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on April 11, 2018. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prepares to take a question during his and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry joint news conference following the talks in Moscow, Russia, May 14, 2018. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prepares to take a question during his and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry joint news conference following the talks in Moscow, Russia, May 14, 2018. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, top, as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi sits next during a plenary session at the Russia-Africa summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Oct. 24, 2019. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Valery Sharifulin, TASS News Agency Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, top, as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi sits next during a plenary session at the Russia-Africa summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Oct. 24, 2019. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Valery Sharifulin, TASS News Agency Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a joint news conference with Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a joint news conference with Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prepare to toast at a ceremony of receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, April 11, 2018. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prepare to toast at a ceremony of receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, April 11, 2018. In his role for nearly 18 years, Lavrov, 71, has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with the Russian war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at the ‘Villa la Grange’, June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland. Prospects for meaningful diplomacy between the United States and Russia on any number of fronts are grim as the two countries are locked in their worst confrontation since the Soviet-era Cuban Missile Crisis over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at the ‘Villa la Grange’, June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland. Prospects for meaningful diplomacy between the United States and Russia on any number of fronts are grim as the two countries are locked in their worst confrontation since the Soviet-era Cuban Missile Crisis over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before their meeting, in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 21, 2022.Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool, File)
FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before their meeting, in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 21, 2022.Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool, File)
FILE - Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wait for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the statue of Russian czar Peter the Great in the background, in the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, March 5, 2020. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, Pool, File)
FILE - Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wait for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the statue of Russian czar Peter the Great in the background, in the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, March 5, 2020. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, Pool, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 14, 2022. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 14, 2022. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov embodies the Kremlin’s defiant posture as the country’s top diplomat with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
MOSCOW (AP) — As Russia’s top diplomat during the invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is embodying the Kremlin’s defiant posture with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm.
While President Vladimir Putin single-handedly shapes the country’s foreign policy, Lavrov delivers Moscow’s message with a bluntness uncharacteristic of a diplomat.
In the role for nearly 18 years, the 71-year-old Lavrov has seen relations with the West shift from near-friendly to openly hostile, plummeting to a catastrophic new low with Russia’s war against Ukraine. The invasion prompted the European Union to freeze the assets of both Putin and Lavrov, among others — an unprecedented blow to Moscow’s pride.
Lavrov’s tenure as foreign minister is second only to that of Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, who was in office for 28 years. Like Gromyko, who was nicknamed Mr. Nyet (Mr. No), Lavrov has come to represent the uncompromising face of Kremlin foreign policy vis a vis the West.
He doesn’t mince words when defending what he sees as Moscow’s interests, and that style must appeal to the tough-talking Russian president.
In 2008, Lavrov famously responded to a reprimand from then British Foreign Secretary David Miliband by snapping: “Who are you to (expletive) lecture me?”
Like his boss, Lavrov has tapped into broad public nostalgia for the country’s Soviet-era clout. He has vented anger at the West, depicting the U.S. as arrogant, conceited, treacherous and determined to dominate the world. He has contemptuously dismissed Western allies as stooges obediently toeing Washington’s line to deter Russia.
Standing next to British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss after their meeting last month, a grim-faced Lavrov snapped that their talks were like a “conversation between deaf and dumb.”
After a lifelong diplomatic career, Lavrov looks visibly bored by daily routine. When he appears before the media, he doesn’t bother to hide his irritation at a naive or provocative question, often responding with an air of contempt or plain mockery.
When a CNN reporter in a video call from the Ukrainian capital asked Lavrov whether Moscow wants to topple the Ukrainian leadership, the aide who managed Friday’s briefing interrupted and said it wasn’t his turn to put a question. The reporter continued, and an angry Lavrov weighed in: “He’s discourteous. He’s working in Ukraine now. He’s got infected with discourtesy.”
Lavrov has particular distaste for photographers, showing annoyance at the clacking of camera shutters.
At one news conference, he muttered an expletive into the microphone in apparent anger at disorderly reporters; the expression became a meme, widely adopted in T-shirt designs for the patriotic audience.
Lavrov has weathered endless waves of speculation that he was on the verge of retirement. Instead, he has become one of the longest-lasting members of Putin’s Cabinet and a perennial figure among a changing kaleidoscope of foreign counterparts.
Before becoming foreign minister, he served as Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations for 10 years and liked to have informal chats with journalists, trading news and jokes over a cigarette in the U.N. corridors. He writes poetry, sings songs on guitar with friends, and eagerly took part in skits with other diplomats at international events when Russia’s ties with the West were less rancorous.
But his smiles and easy ways are a thing of the past now that Lavrov launches daily, angry diatribes against the West over Ukraine, the largest ground conflict Europe has seen since World War II.
On Tuesday, he was barred from flying to Geneva to attend a U.N. conference after European Union members banned Russian planes from their skies as part of bruising sanctions against Moscow.
Lavrov denounced what he called the “outrageous” move in a video address to the U.N. session, charging that “the EU countries are trying to avoid a candid face-to-face dialogue or direct contacts designed to help identify political solutions to pressing international issues.”
“The West clearly has lost self-control in venting anger against Russia and has destroyed its own rules and institutions, including respect for private property,” Lavrov said. “It’s necessary to put an end to the arrogant Western philosophy of self-superiority, exclusivity and total permissiveness.”
But Western diplomats from dozens of nations left the room in Geneva as Lavrov came up on the big screen, letting their feet show their anger at Moscow and in effect saying “nyet” to him and Russian diplomacy.
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