Ukraine and the Baltic states will not attend a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) because Russia is welcome there. The countries announced this on Tuesday.
Foreign ministers of the 57 OSCE member states were invited to consultations in North Macedonia this week. Russia is also a member of the organization.
The Ukrainian Ministry said that the Ukrainian delegation headed by Minister Dmytro Kuleba will remain absent in protest against the invitation of Russian Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia said in a joint statement that Lavrov’s planned presence “risks legitimizing aggressor Russia as a legitimate member of our community of free nations.”
Russia did not attend the OSCE summit last year
Lavrov did not attend the OSCE summit last year, because the President of Poland did not allow it due to the war in Ukraine, which displeased Russia. North Macedonia is currently the president.
It is not yet certain whether Lavrov will actually attend the meeting. According to the minister, this will only be possible if North Macedonia and Bulgaria open airspace to the Russian delegation.
The consultation in Skopje is attended by, among others, the foreign ministers of the United States, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. The meeting begins on Thursday and lasts for two days. The organization was originally founded to reduce tensions during the Cold War.