Lithuania is downgrading the level of its representation at the upcoming Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial meeting in Malta as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plans to attend it, the Foreign Ministry told BNS on Tuesday.
Lithuania will be represented at the meeting by Rasma Ramoškaitė, director of the ministry’s United Nations, International Organisations and Human Rights Department.
Lithuania considered not attending the meeting at all but eventually decided to send its representative, as ministers will vote on issues important for Lithuania, the ministry said.
“The decision to send Lithuania’s representative to this year’s meeting was made after taking into account the fact that important decisions on the future of the OSCE will be made and they will have to do with the heads of the organisation’s institutions, the funding of the organisation and its programs, as well as a peer-to-peer discussion on the increase of OSCE support for Ukraine and a more effective role of the OSCE in strengthening the European security architecture,” Paulina Levickytė, spokesperson for the foreign minister, told BNS.
“Lithuania’s ambition is to ensure that the international community’s support for Ukraine is not reduced and that the OSCE itself implements reforms that reflect the geopolitical reality,” she added.
According to the ministry, the event will be boycotted not only by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis but also by his Estonian counterpart, just like last year.
“Lithuania continues to maintain that the participation of representatives from the aggressor country in the high-level meeting discredits the organisation and allows Russia to use it as a platform for spreading its lies and propaganda,” Levickytė said.
The 31st OSCE Ministerial Council will take place on December 5–6.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced in early November that Lavrov was planning to attend the meeting, which would be his first visit to an EU member state since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Lavrov is now sanctioned by the EU and the sanctions include an asset freeze and a travel ban, but the latter can be temporarily lifted in certain circumstances, for example, to allow him to attend international meetings on EU soil.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski is expected to attend the meeting, but Poland calls the decision to invite Lavrov a mistake.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also scheduled to be in Malta.
The OSCE has 57 members, including Russia and Ukraine. Kyiv has called for Russia to be expelled from the organisation.
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