President Vladimir Putin has appointed a senior technocrat from his presidential staff to lead Russia’s delegation at this month’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, replacing his long-serving foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, amid reports of a significant rift between the Kremlin and its top diplomat.
The reshuffle comes as Putin, who has an International Criminal Court case hanging over his head, joins US President Donald Trump in skipping the November 20-24 gathering, which is expected to be dominated by discussions on global economic stability, energy security, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In a decree issued this week, Putin named Maksim Oreshkin, deputy chief of staff of the presidential administration, to head the Russian contingent.
Oreshkin, a trusted aide and former economic development minister, will be supported by a delegation of deputy ministers and presidential advisers.
The move marks a notable departure from precedents. For years, Lavrov had been the face of Russian diplomacy, even after the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to its diplomatic isolation from Western powers.
Speculation over a fracture in the Putin–Lavrov relationship intensified earlier this month when the foreign minister was absent from a November 5 meeting of Russia’s Security Council.
The session, chaired by Putin, focused on the potential resumption of nuclear testing. Russian media reported that Lavrov was the only permanent member of the council not in attendance.
The apparent falling out is understood to stem, at least in part, from the collapse of US–Russia talks aimed at arranging a summit between Putin and Trump. Lavrov had engaged in negotiations with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explore terms for a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, but the planned meeting was called off after Trump rejected Moscow’s conditions for ending the war.
Soon after, the US Treasury Department announced a fresh round of sanctions targeting Russian energy giants Rosneft and Lukoil, and publicly urged the Kremlin to agree to an immediate ceasefire.
The Kremlin has denied reports of a rift with Lavrov, but the delegation shift suggests a strategic recalibration as Moscow faces continued international pressure and economic strain.
Oreshkin, the new delegation head, is a known quantity within Putin’s inner circle. He served as deputy finance minister from 2015 to 2016 before being appointed minister of economic development, a role he held until 2020.
He later served as a presidential adviser and was promoted last year to deputy chief of staff.
His delegation will include Dmitry Agafonov, head of the presidential expert directorate; Sergey Lukash, deputy head of the same directorate and Russia’s G20 sherpa; Alexander Pankin, deputy foreign minister; and Ivan Chebeskov, deputy finance minister.
The G20 will also proceed without Trump, who confirmed this week he would not attend. Speaking at the American Business Forum in Miami, Trump criticised South Africa’s government, claiming it should no longer be part of the group.
“South Africa shouldn’t even be in the G’s anymore, because what’s happened there is bad,” he said. “I’m not going … I’m not going to represent our country there. It shouldn’t be there.”
Trump’s remarks reflect his longstanding focus on South Africa’s land reform policies, which he has repeatedly, and inaccurately, characterised as racially discriminatory. In February, he signed an executive order directing US agencies to assist with the resettlement of white South African farmers, whom he described as “victims of unjust racial discrimination”, and to cut aid to Pretoria.
The South African government has rejected Trump’s claims as “factually inaccurate” and “politically motivated”, reaffirming its commitment to constitutional democracy and inclusive economic reform.
As world leaders prepare to convene in Johannesburg, Russia’s delegation change signals not only a diplomatic demotion for Lavrov but also a shift toward a more technocratic, economically focused representation – a move that may reflect the Kremlin’s desire to foreground fiscal stability over foreign policy amid prolonged conflict and sanctions.
