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A two-day foreign ministers summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) closes in the North Macedonian capital, Skopje, on Friday.
The 57-member security body is expected to formally announce which country will get the OSCE’s rotating chairmanship next year.
NATO member Estonia had sought the role, but Russia vetoed Tallinn’s bid. Months of negotiations ended earlier this week with a diplomatic agreement on Malta’s takeover of the OSCE’s presidency next year.
While the blockade over the presidency has been lifted, the extension of terms of four top OSCE officials — including Secretary-General Helga Schmid, a German diplomat — remains in question, with Russia again opposing it.
Tensions with Russia overshadow meeting
Moscow’s blockade and the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the two-day meeting have sparked a backlash from countries already outraged by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Lavrov’s attendance prompted Ukraine and other countries to boycott the meeting. Other attendees, including Germany and the EU’s top diplomats, saw it as an opportunity to stand up to Moscow, but insisted that they would not hold bilateral talks with Lavrov.
On Friday, Lavrov hit back, criticizing the early departure of Washington’s Antony Blinken and the EU’s Josep Borrell.
“Why is that?” Lavrov said. “Well, they probably believe that they are reinforcing their intention to isolate Russia. But I think they are just cowards, they are afraid of any honest dialogue involving facts.”
Blinken left Skopje early Thursday and headed to the Middle East. Borrell defended Lavorv’s attendance, saying it was a chance for the Russian diplomat to hear “why Russia is isolated.”
Several states have accused Russia of trying to destroy the OSCE. German Foreign Minister Baerbock said on Thursday that the OSCE’s decision-making processes must be strengthened “even if Russia has put massive obstacles” in the way of its work.
“The Russian government’s perfidious game is and was also to destroy organizations that rely on peaceful coexistence and cooperation, with its brutal war against Ukraine,” Baerbock said, adding: “And we will not allow that to happen.”
fb/nm (AFP, EFE, Reuters, dpa)
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