Ukraine and the three Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) have announced that they will not attend the OSCE ministerial meeting in Skopje on 30 November and <> December, at the end of North Macedonia's chairmanship of the pan-European organisation, due to the presence
at the meeting of the Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"We should focus our joint efforts on how to save the OSCE from Russia and not send messages about the possibility of a return to the forms of cooperation that existed before February 2022 to the state that unleashed the largest armed aggression in Europe since the end of World War II," the Foreign Ministry in Kiev said in a statement. "For this reason, the delegation of Ukraine will not participate in the OSCE meeting."
For their part, the three Baltic countries said in a joint statement that "the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania strongly condemn the decision to allow Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to participate in the OSCE Ministerial Council in Skopje and therefore decided not to attend."
"The decision to allow Sergei Lavrov to participate in the OSCE Ministerial Conference risks legitimizing Russia's aggressor state as a legitimate member of our community of free nations," the statement added
These stances came after the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry confirmed in a press release issued late yesterday evening that the authorities in Sofia have allowed the aircraft with which the Russian foreign minister will travel to Skopje in the coming days to fly over Bulgarian airspace. where the OSCE summit will be held on 30 November and <> December, at the conclusion of North Macedonia's chairmanship of the pan-European organisation.
The permit was granted at the request of the Macedonian Foreign Ministry. "The permit for participation in the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Skopje is granted to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov and falls within the exceptions to the application of the EU sanctions regime against him. The authorization granted does not apply to the members of its delegation, who are also sanctioned," the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Sofia's green light for Lavrov's plane to fly over was anticipated last night by Russia's ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova.
For his part, North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani stressed that "Russia with its aggression against Ukraine has violated the principles of the OSCE, to which we voluntarily adhered 50 years ago, and I will tell this to Minister Lavrov, whom I will meet not as Foreign Minister of North Macedonia but as OSCE Chairman." "Lavrov is not coming to Skopje but to the OSCE ministerial, as well as to the UN in New York: the organization has served the region to promote democratic values and we will need it more and more in the future, we must preserve it," he added
For Ukraine, Moscow 'blackmails and threatens'
Ukraine 'greatly appreciates North Macedonia's efforts as OSCE Chairmanship in 2023, 'as well as Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, who have demonstrated high professionalism and unwavering commitment to the protection of OSCE principles and commitments.
We are particularly grateful to North Macedonia for prioritizing the issue of countering Russian aggression against Ukraine during its Presidency," the statement said.
"Today, the Russian Federation is exerting pressure and weakening the OSCE through the abuse of the consensus rule. Through blackmail and open threats, the Russian Federation has systematically blocked consensus on crucial issues. The blocking of Estonia's candidacy for the OSCE chairmanship in 2024 has become yet another example of Russia's abuses. In addition, Russia has illegally detained three Ukrainian OSCE officials who have been detained for more than 500 days. Russia has created an existential
crisis within the OSCE and turned the Organization hostage to its whims and aggression," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry charges.
"Under these conditions, the presence of the Russian delegation at the ministerial-level meeting for the first time since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine will only exacerbate the crisis into which Russia has pushed the OSCE."
The Baltic States' reasons
The 30th Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will be held from 30 November to 1 December 2023 in Skopje, North Macedonia. The Ministerial Council is the central governing and decision-making body of the OSCE.
"The annual meeting is an opportunity for foreign ministers to review and assess the security situation in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian area, as well as the work of the organization in all its fields of activity," the organization's website reads.
"Over the past two years, we have witnessed how one OSCE participating state has actively and brutally tried to annihilate another. Moreover, we have seen nothing but Russia's obstructionist behavior within the OSCE, first blocking any OSCE presence and activity in Ukraine, then blocking Estonia's chairmanship for 2024 for completely fabricated reasons, and now blocking constructive solutions to keep the organization alive and functional."
"In this regard, the decision to allow Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to attend the OSCE Ministerial risks legitimizing the aggressor Russia as a legitimate member of our community of free nations, trivializing the heinous crimes that Russia is committing, and tolerating Russia's blatant violation and disregard of the OSCE's fundamental principles and commitments."
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