Diplomatic Tensions: US Secretary of State Leaves OSCE Meeting Before Russian Foreign Minister’s Arrival

Before Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Skopje for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed.

European Pravda claims that the Ukrainian delegation was informed of this US action the previous day. Due to Russian participation, the US Foreign Service did not want to openly portray this schedule modification as a boycott of the ministerial meeting.

Yesterday, Blinken met with North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister, Bujar Osmani, in Skopje.

After leaving Skopje, the US Secretary of State took part in a working dinner that was arranged on the fringes of the summit.

When Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, mentioned colleagues who would attend the dinner in Lavrov’s absence but would not stay for the plenary session, it was most likely Blinken to whom he was referring.

Blinken is expected to travel to Israel subsequent to his visit to North Macedonia.

“It’s great to be here in Skopje…with all our colleagues. North Macedonia is an ally and partner of the United States and all our NATO allies. We see this every day. We strongly support the work that you are doing to strengthen democratic institutions,” said Blinken.

He wrote on Twitter that “despite Russia’s obstructionism, we remain fully committed to the OSCE, its founding principles, and the important work that is achieved.”

Lavrov reached North Macedonia late last evening. The aircraft carrying the Russian delegation was traveling to Skopje via Greece, not Bulgaria, according to Russian media. This was purportedly due to Sofia’s determination that Maria Zakharova, the press secretary for the Russian Foreign Ministry, was exempt from the flight permit.

Prior to this, in response to the authorization that had been given, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry made it clear that other members of Lavrov’s delegation who were subject to EU sanctions were not covered by it, as had been stated in the pertinent note from the Bulgarian side.

It is known that Lavrov’s presence caused the foreign ministers of four EU members—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland—as well as the Ukrainian government to boycott the Skopje meeting.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Announces Several More Ministers to Boycott OSCE Meeting Due to Russia’s Participation

A number of colleagues affirmed to Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, that they would boycott the OSCE meeting in opposition to Russia’s involvement in it.

Kuleba emphasized that the countries from which the ministers will not attend the meeting in North Macedonia are not all of those that have openly declared they will boycott it, including Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, and Lithuania.

“There are more than four countries that do not agree with the participation of [Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov,” said the minister.

Kuleba continued, saying he has already been assured by a number of other colleagues that they will not attend a joint meeting with Lavrov in Skopje.

“There are four countries that have said they will not be [represented] at the OSCE ministerial meeting. But there are also ministers who came up to me and said that although they are here [at the NATO meeting in Brussels] they will not attend [the OSCE meeting in Skopje], but do not want to say it publicly. There are also those ministers who will be at dinner on Wednesday, where Lavrov will not be present, but they won’t be there at the meeting on Thursday,” Kuleba stated.

The crisis was caused by North Macedonia’s invitation to Lavrov for a meeting and the granting of visas to him, but the minister made it clear that he did not wish to condemn the nation.

In a statement, the minister said, “I want to defend the Macedonians, who have supported Ukraine all year long.”

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry declared on November 28 that Kuleba would not be attending the OSCE meeting because Sergey Lavrov would be attending. Soon after, the Baltic State foreign ministers also made the decision not to attend the OSCE summit.

Different decisions have been made by certain states. For instance, Bulgaria allowed a Russian aircraft carrying Lavrov to fly through its airspace.

Poland Joins Boycott: Refuses to Attend OSCE Meeting Over Russian Foreign Minister’s Participation

Due to an invitation from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Poland will not be attending a ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) this week in North Macedonia.

Szynkowski vel Sęk declared that he would not be traveling to the capital of North Macedonia with any of his deputy ministers, nor would he be attending the OSCE meeting.

According to him, “We simply cannot ignore the fact that the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs will be present at the table of an organization that is supposed to build peace and security in Europe,” he said.

The decision by the organizers to invite Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov prevented Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba from attending the OSCE meeting, the ministry of foreign affairs announced on November 28. Following that, the foreign ministers of the Baltic states decided to abstain from the OSCE summit.

In opposition to Russia’s participation, Kuleba claimed that a number of his counterparts have confirmed to him that they will not be attending the OSCE meeting.

Certain states have made a different choice. For instance, Lavrov is authorized to travel through Bulgarian airspace to attend the meeting by the Bulgarian authorities.