Ukraine Will ‘Boycott’ OSCE Meeting Over Lavrov’s Invitation – News18

Ukraine said Tuesday it will boycott an OSCE meeting in the North Macedonian capital Skopje this week after the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, who said he plans to attend.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also said they will not take part in the annual ministerial conference of the pan-European security body.

The announcement came the day after Bulgaria said it will open its airspace to the Russian minister, making a diplomatic exemption to European skies being closed to Russia over its Ukraine invasion.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will “boycott” the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting over the decision to allow Lavrov to attend, Kyiv told AFP.

Lavrov is under European sanctions and had asked for North Macedonia and neighbouring Bulgaria to open their airspace to enable him to fly into Skopje.

The top Russian diplomat said Monday that he plans to travel to Skopje if he will be let through.

“If it works out, we will be there,” he said, according to Russian news agencies.

The annual ministerial conference in Skopje begins on Thursday.

Kyiv has called for Moscow to be excluded from the organisation.

“We must work together to save the OSCE from Russia,” Nikolenko said in a later post on social media.

He said Russia should be removed from the OSCE as it “unleashed the largest armed aggression in Europe since the end of WWII”.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also said Tuesday their top diplomats would not attend the meeting in protest over the invitation to Lavrov.

“Lavrov’s attendance trivialises the atrocious crimes that Russia continues to commit,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said he will attend the meeting in Skopje, but will not meet Lavrov directly.

“Russia will present its point of view, we the Europeans will present ours,” Borrell said.

“But I will not have a direct discussion with him.”

North Macedonia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the European security body.

When Poland hosted the annual meeting last year, it did not allow Lavrov into the country.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)