Ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania say presence of Sergey Lavrov dangers legitimising Russian struggle in Ukraine.
The overseas ministers of three Baltic states have introduced that they are going to boycott a gathering of the Group for Safety and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) after Russian International Minister Sergey Lavrov was invited to the occasion.
In a press release on Tuesday, the officers from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania mentioned {that a} determination to ask Lavrov to attend the summit in Skopje risked legitimising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“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,” the statement reads.
“It will only provide Russia with yet another propaganda opportunity.”
Individually, Oleh Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian overseas ministry, wrote in a press release on Fb that the Ukrainian delegation wouldn’t participate within the assembly.
Nikolenko mentioned Russia had abused the principles of consensus within the organisation, resorted to “blackmail and open threats” and had additionally been holding three Ukrainian OSCE representatives in jail for 500 days.
“In such conditions, the presence of a Russian delegation … at minister-level for the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine will only deepen the crisis into which Russia has driven the OSCE,” he mentioned.
There was no instant remark from the Russian overseas ministry.
Determined along with @krisjaniskarins & @GLandsbergis to not attend the OSCE ministerial council in Skopje if Russia’s overseas minister Lavrov will take part.
My view: Lavrov belongs at a particular tribunal as a substitute of the OSCE desk.
Our full assertion:https://t.co/Dkb1gn9T71 pic.twitter.com/J60h9DsTkt
— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) November 28, 2023
The transfer comes as Ukraine’s Western allies sought to rally extra assist for Kyiv, as fighting continues with no clear end in sight.
Talking earlier than a gathering of NATO overseas ministers in Brussels, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg urged members to “stay the course” of their support for Ukraine, as each the US and European Union battle to agree on additional army help.
The OSCE, a 57-member organisation first began in the course of the Chilly Conflict with the purpose of decreasing tensions between East and West, has a rotating presidency at the moment held by North Macedonia, whose overseas minister invited Lavrov to the summit that’s set to start on Thursday.
Lavrov mentioned on Monday that he would attend, in what could be his first journey to a NATO member since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Talking to reporters at NATO headquarters on Tuesday, North Macedonia’s International Minister Bujar Osmani defended the choice and argued that the OSCE must be seen as a impartial discussion board.
“Lavrov is not coming to Skopje, in a way. Lavrov is coming to the OSCE just as he went to [the] UN in New York a few months ago,” Osmani mentioned. “I won’t be meeting him as the foreign minister of North Macedonia, but as the OSCE chairman in office.”
Nevertheless, Osmani additionally took a agency stance on Ukraine, saying that he would inform Lavrov that “we have turned [the] OSCE into a platform for political and legal accountability of the Russian Federation for its deeds in Ukraine, and we will continue to do so”.
