‘The only thing I meant’: Russian envoy explains his ‘womaniser’ barb on Lavrov

The Russian ambassador to India, Denis Alipov, issued a clarification on Sunday regarding the controversy that arose from his comment in which he referred to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as a "womaniser." He offered apologies for his remarks, which were deemed "scandalous" by some, and clarified that he meant the minister is "popular among women as a gentleman."

Taking to the social media platform X, Alipov wrote, “I’m sorry that my words had a scandalous tang to some. The only thing I meant is that Minister Lavrov is popular among women as a gentleman. And he’s much admired by men too for his intellect, charisma and wit.”ect, charisma, and wit.”

During a press interaction at the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia on Friday, Alipov was asked about the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin from the G20 meeting by a "reporter." He was questioned, "Putin is very popular with Russian women. If he had come to India, it would have been very nice for us, and we would have really enjoyed it. But now you have the foreign minister coming!"

In response, the Russian ambassador said, “Thank you for your remarks on Russian men. Lavrov is married, by the way...but he is a womaniser.”

However, the Indian government's fact-check agency, PIB Fact Check, flagged out that the reporter in question does not belong to the state broadcaster DD News, as she had claimed.

Putin to skip G20 Summit

India is scheduled to host the G20 Summit on September 9-10. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convey his decision not to attend next month’s G20 Summit in person. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also skipping the summit, with Premier Li Qiang set to travel to India after attending the East Asia summit in Jakarta.

‘No consensus within the G20 on the Ukraine crisis': Alipov

During the press conference, Alipov mentioned that there is no consensus within the G20 on the Ukraine crisis, and the Indian presidency of the grouping is facing "strong pressure" from some countries that have taken control of the agenda.