Several ministers (Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries) are boycotting a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is being held in North Macedonia, to protest against Russia’s presence.
A sign of the strong tensions between Russia and the West due to Russian aggression in Ukraine, the meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) opened this Thursday in North Macedonia. , but in the noticed absence foreign ministers from Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries protesting against the presence of Sergei Lavrov, the head of Russian diplomacy.
The latter arrived on site Thursday morning “despite the intrigues of enemies”, reacted on Telegram the spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova.
Bulgaria, which first authorized Mr. Lavrov – targeted by Western sanctions for the conflict in Ukraine – to fly over its airspace, then revoked this authorization due to the presence in his plane of Ms. Zakharova, sanctioned she too and banned from entering the European Union, according to the same source.
Mr. Lavrov’s plane eventually arrived in North Macedonia via Greek airspace, according to Russian news agencies.
decision “allowing (Sergei) Lavrov to participate is consistent with our common goal of keeping multilateralism alive“estimated for his part the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
Mr. Lavrov “needs to hear from everyone, again, 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. He will then be able to report to the master of the Kremlin that the European Union and the OSCE remain united in deploring Russia’s aggressive and illegal behavior”he added.
The United States, represented on Wednesday at the OSCE by American Secretary of State Antony Blinken who went to Israel on Thursday to try to obtain an extension of the truce in Gaza, also staunchly supports this European forum established in the Habsburg imperial palace.
This forum for dialogue between East and West is going through the most serious crisis since its creation 48 years ago, paralyzed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians believe that the presence of Mr. Lavrov “risks legitimizing the aggressor that is Russia as a full member of our community of free nations.”.
Ukraine also castigated the presence “of a state that unleashed the greatest armed aggression in Europe since the end of the Second World War.”
A presence also judged “unacceptable” by Warsaw, which had refused in 2022 to allow the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs to participate in the OSCE meeting it was hosting, sparking protests from Moscow.
The OSCE almost found itself without a presidency in 2024 –and therefore, without a budget. Malta agreed at the last minute to take the presidency in place of Estonia, Moscow not wanting to hear about a NATO member in this strategic position.
This decision should be ratified in Skopje.
France is represented there by its Secretary of State for Europe, Laurence Boone. “I am here to reiterate our support for Ukraine,” she told AFP, and to “show that despite Russian obstruction, we manage to make the OSCE work.”.
The OSCE was created in 1975, when the Western and Soviet blocs agreed to create a platform for dialogue between the two enemy camps. Today it brings together 57 countries.