The OSCE Council of Ministers was partially boycotted due to the presence of Sergei Lavrov
The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, upon his arrival in Skopje on Thursday, November 30. RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / VIA Portal
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meets on Thursday in North Macedonia, in the notable absence of the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries, who protest the presence of the leader of Russian diplomacy.
This forum for dialogue between East and West is experiencing the most serious crisis since its founding 48 years ago, paralyzed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to address the council at 10 a.m. His Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts believe his presence “risks legitimizing the aggressor Russia as a full member of our community of free nations.” Kiev castigated the presence of “a state that launched the largest armed aggression in Europe since the end of World War II.”
A presence that Warsaw deemed “unacceptable” and barred the Russian foreign minister from attending the OSCE meeting it hosted in 2022, prompting protests from Moscow. Sergei Lavrov arrived in North Macedonia “despite the intrigues of the enemies,” Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded to Telegram.
Bulgaria, which had initially allowed Mr. Lavrov to fly over its airspace due to Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, then revoked that permission due to the presence of Ms. Zakharova on his plane, which it also sanctioned and is unwelcome in Europe Union. According to Russian news agencies, Lavrov’s plane eventually entered North Macedonia via Greek airspace.
The decision “to approve [Sergueï] Lavrov’s participation is in line with our common goal of keeping multilateralism alive,” European Union diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday evening. Mr. Lavrov “needs to hear again from everyone why Russia is doomed and isolated.” It will be a good opportunity for him to listen to the participants in this meeting tell him why Russia is doomed and isolated. Then he will be able to report to the Kremlin master that the European Union and the OSCE remain united in deploring Russia’s aggressive and illegal behavior,” he added.
The United States, represented at the OSCE by American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, also supports this European forum established in the Habsburg Imperial Palace.