Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov are said to have fallen out recently, although the Kremlin denies it.

The Kremlin has pushed back on speculation that Vladimir Putin is displeased with his long-time ally and top diplomat.

Sergei Lavrov’s mysterious absence from key government meetings – both inside and outside Russia – in recent weeks has set off alarm bells considering how consistently the senior politician has supported Putin over the decades.

Lavrov, who has been in post since 2004, was the only permanent member of the security council missing last Tuesday when Putin told his officials to come up with a plan to resume nuclear weapons testing.

A junior minister has also replaced Lavrov in Russia’s delegation to the G20 summit in South Africa.

But Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Lavrov “continues to work, and he is actively at work”.

According to The Guardian, he claimed: “When there are relevant public events, you will see the minister.”

He insisted that any rumours of a falling out were “absolutely untrue,” “everything is fine” and “there is no need to pay........

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