Several officials left the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), ministers' meeting session during Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's address.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov faced criticism from Western ministers during international security
talks in Northern Macedonia on Thursday, where he attributed the return of war
to Europe to "NATO’s reckless expansion to the East."
Lavrov, attending meetings OSCE,
encountered a diplomatic boycott from several OSCE member nations, including
Ukraine, due to Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.
Speaking for 15 minutes before
walking out, Lavrov blamed Western tolerance of what he termed the "ruling
neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv" for the conflict that began with Russia's invasion
of Ukraine in February 2022.
"The very existence of
Russians and their decisive contribution to the history of Ukraine are
denied," Lavrov asserted. "There are plenty of facts. The OSCE and
its relevant institutions are silent."
Russian President Vladimir
Putin has consistently labeled Ukraine’s government as “neo-Nazis,” despite the
country having a democratically elected Jewish president who lost relatives in
the Holocaust. The invocation of the Holocaust, World War II, and Nazism by
Russian officials is widely seen as disinformation.
Western ministers at the OSCE
meeting sharply criticized Lavrov after his address. Danish Foreign Minister
Lars Lokke Rasmussen, speaking when Lavrov walked out, stated, "Russia’s
attempts to blame others for its own choices are transparent."
“We will not compromise on the core principles of the European security order or allow Russia to deny Ukraine the right to make its own independent foreign and security policy choices – principles that Russia itself has agreed to,” Rasmussen added.
The OSCE, based in Vienna,
Austria, focuses on promoting security, stability, and cooperation among
participating states.
Lavrov's attendance at the
talks prompted NATO member North Macedonia to lift a ban on Russian flights.
The minister, reportedly flying a longer route over Turkey and Greece after
Bulgaria blocked his plane from using its airspace, arrived amid the absence of
foreign ministers from Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State James O’Brien, present at the event, accused Russia of undermining the
work of the OSCE. North Macedonia’s foreign minister, Bujar Osmani, emphasized
the OSCE's endurance despite Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
“War undermines trust,
dialogue, and our capacity to deliver. Above all, it devastates the lives of
ordinary people,” Osmani stated during the meetings.
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