Ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania say presence of Sergey Lavrov dangers legitimising Russian battle in Ukraine.
The international ministers of three Baltic states have introduced that they’ll boycott a gathering of the Group for Safety and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) after Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov was invited to the occasion.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the officers from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania mentioned {that a} resolution to ask Lavrov to attend the summit in Skopje risked legitimising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We deeply remorse the choice enabling the non-public participation of Russian Overseas Minister S. Lavrov on the thirtieth Session of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Skopje,” the assertion reads.
“It would solely present Russia with yet one more propaganda alternative.”
Individually, Oleh Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian international ministry, wrote in an announcement 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 circumstances, the presence of a Russian delegation … at minister-level for the primary time because the begin of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine will solely deepen the disaster into which Russia has pushed the OSCE,” he mentioned.
There was no quick remark from the Russian international ministry.
Determined along with @krisjaniskarins & @GLandsbergis to not attend the OSCE ministerial council in Skopje if Russia’s international minister Lavrov will take part.
My view: Lavrov belongs at a particular tribunal as an alternative 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 help for Kyiv, as preventing continues with no clear finish in sight.
Talking earlier than a gathering of NATO international ministers in Brussels, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg urged members to “keep the course” of their help for Ukraine, as each the US and European Union wrestle to agree on additional army help.
The OSCE, a 57-member organisation first began in the course of the Chilly Battle with the objective of decreasing tensions between East and West, has a rotating presidency presently held by North Macedonia, whose international 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.
Chatting with reporters at NATO headquarters on Tuesday, North Macedonia’s Overseas Minister Bujar Osmani defended the choice and argued that the OSCE ought to be seen as a impartial discussion board.
“Lavrov just isn’t coming to Skopje, in a means. Lavrov is coming to the OSCE simply as he went to [the] UN in New York a couple of months in the past,” Osmani mentioned. “I gained’t be assembly him because the international minister of North Macedonia, however because the OSCE chairman in workplace.”
Nevertheless, Osmani additionally took a agency stance on Ukraine, saying that he would inform Lavrov that “we’ve got turned [the] OSCE right into a platform for political and authorized accountability of the Russian Federation for its deeds in Ukraine, and we’ll proceed to take action”.
