He is respected, feared, admired and discussed. Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who loves whiskey and cigarettes, one after another, leaves no one indifferent. Although his hard style of behavior may cause irritation, but no one doubts his competence and diplomatic talent, but also in the weakness of the small pleasures of life.
When Sergei Lavrov enters the room, it is impossible not to notice. Tall, charismatic, with slightly exaggerated gestures. Most often he is dressed in elegant suits with silk ties, and the attentive eyes behind glasses in steel frames. Often Smoking cigarette in the corner of his mouth.
So we saw him in Geneva during the endless negotiations over Syrian chemical weapons, Iranian nuclear weapons and peace initiatives in Syria. In solid terms, Lavrov almost uncompromisingly defended Russian line that almost brought the American government representatives, Hillary Clinton (Hillary Clinton) and Condoleezza rice (Condoleezza Rice) to the tantrums. Often intractable, he earned the flattering nickname of “Mr. No.”
But when he and U.S. Secretary of state John Kerry (John Kerry) from a pool in Geneva concocted in 2013, the agreement on destruction of Syrian chemical weapons, Lavrov was jubilant. The American attack on Assad stopped, can continue to support the Syrian regime with weapons. Bingo for Lavrov and Putin.
Sergei Lavrov was so happy that to celebrate I bought myself a huge bottle of whiskey and an expensive cigar, and then sat down on the Sunny terrace, surrounded by adoring subjects. This symbolic picture of the SvD was able to capture.
But for the most part the world sees grim and harsh Lavrov. However, behind that facade is incredibly competent, witty, and a talented diplomat. Some believe 63-year-old Lavrov to the most skillful politicians of the world.
It is based on your growing experience. His journey that started with the exam at the Moscow state Institute of international relations (MGIMO) in 1972, quickly brought him to the Soviet diplomatic service. The first place was the Sri Lanka. But then Lavrov as jumping was in new York and the UN, where he stayed for the Soviet and then the Russian representative in total of 15 years.
As the Russian Ambassador to the UN, he was involved in including the war in Bosnia, war in Kosovo and the possible presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. His daughter Catherine remained in new York, graduated from the prestigious Columbia University, but in 2014 she came back home.
Intuition Lavrov, manifested in the work of the UN, the acute issues of world politics and his diplomatic skill led to the fact that in 2004, Vladimir Putin appointed him Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia. In this position, he true defended Russian interests in the past 13 years, sometimes with such zeal that he was called “diplomatic bulldozer”. In the first place and in the largest measure in the calculation are always taken Russia and Putin. And despite the fact that Lavrov is fluent in English and French, he insists that at official meetings was used by the Russian language.
But Sergei Lavrov — and also enjoying life “Bon vivant” whose treatment of women teetering somewhere between sexism and gentleman. He loves his cigarettes and cigars — despite the great interest in rowing and skiing. When UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (Kofi Annan) has imposed a ban on Smoking in the headquarters of the UN, Lavrov scolded him, saying that “the building didn’t belong to him”, and continued to smoke as soon as given the opportunity.
Refuses Lavrov, who, incidentally, plays the guitar, drinking, and likes to joke with reporters and chatting with beautiful women. Once he almost fell at the sight of my Peruvian colleagues, Isabel exclaimed, “Oh, what a beautiful woman”, when you come to the negotiations on chemical weapons in a heavily guarded Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva. At other times he felt sorry for the reporters who waited the whole night, while there were negotiations on Syria. Suddenly, he ordered that in the corridor sent a few bottles of Russian vodka in addition to the pizza that John Kerry ordered for the starving in the press.
But the famous Russian diplomat may be angry.
One day a photographer asked him and John Kerry to stand up for photos with UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi (Lakhdar Brahimi), during a meeting in Geneva. “You didn’t come here to give us some orders, and to seize the moment,” he heard the surprised photographer the lion’s roar Lavrov. The Russian Tsar of foreign Affairs, sometimes charming, friendly, cheeky and sometimes poisonous. A difficult negotiating partner.
