The controversy over the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the OSCE summit in Skopje is growing. The summit was boycotted in a show of protest by the Baltic states and Ukraine, which see it as a dangerous concession to Moscow. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left the office before the Russian’s arrival. Instead, Bulgaria closed its airspace and forced the flight of the head of Russian diplomacy to reroute: Sofia justified the move with fears that spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was on board and was affected by EU sanctions. For the High Representative of Europe Josep Borrell, Lavrov “will once again listen to the unanimous condemnation of Moscow’s policies and its armed aggression against Ukraine.”
[[(FckEditorEmbeddedHtmlLayoutElement) include]]
Important points
08:35
Lavrov in Skopje for the OSCE, plane flew over Greece
10:25 a.m
Moscow vs. Bulgaria: “Stupid to close Lavrov’s airspace”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Bulgaria’s decision to close its airspace to the plane on which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reached Skopje today to attend the OSCE meeting as “absurd and stupid,” the Interfax agency said. Sofia’s motive, Moscow said, was “absurd and stupid.” On board was the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, who was affected by EU sanctions. Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced that President Vladimir Putin would hold a press conference on December 14 to summarize the year’s results. The briefing will be broadcast on state television.
(Portal) 09:48
Possible presence of Zakharova on board, Sofia does not grant Lavrov airspace presence
Bulgaria refused to open its airspace to the plane on which Sergei Lavrov was traveling, believing that Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova might be on board. Tass reported it. The Russian Foreign Minister arrived in the capital of North Macedonia, Skopje, to attend the OSCE ministerial meeting. Lavrov’s plane flew over Turkey and Greece, although it was originally planned to fly over Bulgaria. The flight took more than 5 hours after Sofia’s no.
According to a statement from the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the accompanying delegation are granted permission to attend the meeting in Skopje. This permission does not apply to the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry.” Minister Maria Zakharova, who is on the EU sanctions list.
09:36
Blinken leaves the OSCE meeting before Lavrov’s arrival
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left the ongoing Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in Skopje ahead of the arrival of his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. This was reported by Radio Free Europe – Radio Liberty.
Blinken arrived in Skopje last night, just before the start of the two-day meeting of OSCE foreign ministers hosted by the organization’s chairman, North Macedonia. The head of American diplomacy met with North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani and attended an informal dinner where OSCE officials discussed Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
09:20
Putin: “Kissinger, a wise and far-sighted statesman”
“An extraordinary diplomat, an intelligent and far-sighted statesman who enjoyed deserved authority around the world for many decades.” This is how Russian President Vladimir Putin defined Henry Kissinger in a message of condolence to the family published on the Kremlin website.
This was reported by Tass.
08:44
Kiev, Russian rockets on houses in Donetsk, children injured
“At night the Russian army launched a massive attack on three cities in the Donetsk region, Pokrovsk, Myrnograd and Novogradivka, private houses were hit, there were injured people, including children, there could still be people under the rubble.” This shared the Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko. “Pokrovsk, Novogrodivka and Myrnograd were bombed. Ten people were injured by the rockets, including four children. Rescuers are searching for five people among the rubble,” the minister wrote on Telegram, adding that 6 S-300 missiles were fired.
08:35
Lavrov in Skopje for the OSCE, plane flew over Greece
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came to Skopje to attend the OSCE ministerial meeting “despite the intrigues of the enemies.”
To arrive in North Macedonia, Russian authorities write, Lavrov’s planes flew over the airspace of Turkey and Greece, changing the originally planned route, which led over Bulgaria. In fact, the Sofia government refused to let the Russian diplomatic chief’s plane fly because his spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, was on board.
The powerful Zakharova immediately drew attention to this in her X account. “Sergey Lavrov came to Macedonia to take part in the ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Despite the intrigues of the enemies, we are in Skopje,” she wrote on Telegram.
06:50
Aiea alert, explosions near Khmelnitsky power plant
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, one of its teams monitoring the situation at Ukraine’s Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant reported hearing “multiple explosions in the immediate vicinity over a period of 20 minutes.”
06:10
Drone from Moscow and Kiev shot down over Belgorod region of Russia
A Ukrainian drone was shot down over the Russian Belgorod region tonight, the Moscow Defense Ministry said, citing the Tass agency.
04:50
Air raid warning in seven Ukrainian regions
The airstrike alert was sounded tonight in seven regions of Ukraine: Kiev, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv. The local media reported about it.