The foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have decided not to attend the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in Skopje, the capital of Northern Macedonia, on Thursday, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been invited to attend.
“We deeply regret the decision enabling the personal participation of Russian Foreign Minister S. Lavrov at the 30th Session of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Skopje. It will only provide Russia with yet another propaganda opportunity,” reads the statement by the three Baltic ministers obtained by LRT.lt.
“S. Lavrov’s attendance at the OSCE Ministerial Council also risks legitimizing aggressor Russia as a rightful member of our community of free nations, trivializing the atrocious crimes Russia has been committing, and putting up with Russia’s blatant violation and contempt of the OSCE fundamental principles and commitments,” they added. “We, the Ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, will not be part of this and will not share responsibility for consequences it will create.”
The ministers stressed that in the last two years since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, “we have also seen nothing but Russia’s obstructive behavior within the OSCE itself – first, by blocking any OSCE presence and activities in Ukraine, then by blocking Estonia’s 2024 chairmanship on completely fabricated reasons and now by blocking constructive solutions for keeping the organization alive and functional”.
North Macedonia has decided to temporarily suspend Western sanctions on the Kremlin regime officials, allowing Lavrov to fly into the NATO member state. He will also have to cross the airspace of another NATO member, Bulgaria or Greece, during his flight.
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it had given permission for Lavrov’s plane to cross its airspace. However, the authorisation “does not apply to members of his delegation who are also sanctioned under EU law and who are named in documents on the Bulgarian side”.
The Baltic ministers stressed in their statement that Russia’s aggression must be stopped immediately, the country must withdraw all of its troops from the occupied territories of Ukraine, compensate for the damages caused, and be held fully accountable for the perpetration of international crimes.
“None of this is in place. Nor do we see signs that Russia is even remotely considering compliance with its international obligations and OSCE commitments,” they said. “The OSCE was originally designed to build European security, to prevent conflicts and to preserve peace. And Russia has, through its unlawful and atrocious actions, proved time and again that it is not a security partner to Europe.”
Russia is one of the 57 members of the OSCE, an organisation founded during the Cold War to defuse tensions between the Western and Eastern blocs. Last week, North Macedonia, which now holds the organisation’s presidency, invited Lavrov to attend a meeting starting on Thursday in Skopje.
The North Macedonian foreign minister has not disclosed what bilateral meetings were planned during the OSCE ministerial meeting. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is also due to attend the meeting in Skopje, will not meet with Lavrov.
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