In the sweltering heat of Bali, one hears surprisingly clear statements about the war that nobody wants. Were it not for Putin’s placeholder Lavrov, who sees everything very differently. And some people look nicer than they are in a Balinese shirt.
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Daniel Brössler and David Pfeifer, Nusa Dua
Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov has been doing this for long enough now. He knows what’s coming. The red carpet in front of him, which he has to follow, past the red and white uniformed guards, then up a small flight of stairs. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is on his own. President Vladimir Putin ordered him to the G-20 summit. In his 18 years of service, Lavrov may have often lacked diplomatic finesse, but never lacked obedience.