Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Western diplomats blame each other for destroying the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Part of the delegations boycotted his speech in Skopje and told the Kremlin that the war in Ukraine should stop.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia James O'Brien said that the OSCE will survive even without those who block it.
The boycott of part of Lavrov's speech by delegations, his accusations that the West is being "destroyed" by the OSCE, as well as the messages conveyed to him by Western diplomats regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine overshadowed the focus of the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council.
Topics such as the financial future of the OSCE and the election of Malta as the presiding country for the coming year fell into the background.
At a meeting in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, which chairs the OSCE, all participating countries agreed that the OSCE must exist, but Western countries and Russia accused each other of wanting to destroy the organization.
Today, at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Skopje, Lavrov accused other member countries, especially the EU and the USA, of hypocrisy and disrespect for the principles on which the organization rests.
Lavrov said that he was addressing the "Brussels bureaucracy", and stated that Europe "has a problem with facts and objectivity" and that the conclusions that the OSCE will reach at the two-day meeting in Skopje "were prepared in advance".
He accused the OSCE of being silent when media freedom is threatened in Western countries and repression is carried out against them, and that it attacks Russia because of this, and that Moscow's requests to discuss neo-Nazi movements in Europe and Ukraine are constantly being rejected, the Skopje media reported.
Lavrov accused Ukraine of wanting to "erase everything Russian" in the country, not recognizing the existence of a Russian minority, legally banning the Russian language and waging a "disgusting campaign" against the Russian church in that country.
He added that "it all started in 2014", immediately after the peace agreement signed with the guarantee of Germany, France and Poland, and not after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began last year.
Lavrov said that the OSCE is "in a bad state" today and that the organization's perspective is "unclear", assessing that it was destroyed in 1999 by NATO's attack on Yugoslavia.
"The countries of NATO and the EU destroyed the military-political dimension of the OSCE. In 1999, NATO carried out an undisguised, brutal aggression against Yugoslavia, a member of the OSCE and the UN. And in 2008, in violation of Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council and the principle of the inviolability of borders in Europe, from According to the final act from Helsinki, Kosovo was taken away from Serbia without any referendum," Lavrov said.
The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs also referred to the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West, saying that they are "in incredible proportions".
"In an effort to destroy the Russian economy, the US and its European satellites have imposed thousands of sanctions on Russia, ending the broad cooperation between East and West in our once shared region," said the head of Russian diplomacy.
Lavrov also stated that Moldova will be "the next victim in the West's hybrid war against Russia."
Who is destroying the OSCE?
Western diplomats sent a message to Moscow with harsh statements and a partial boycott that they oppose the war in Ukraine. They pointed the finger at Russia for interfering with the functioning of the OSCE. On the other hand, Lavrov, who listened live to their messages and reactions, responded by accusing the West of destroying the OSCE for years.
"Every unbiased person understands that it is important to seriously and honestly deal with European non-confrontational issues. However, Western capitals are obsessed with the OSCE's chances for revival. They have already created a European political community without Russia and Belarus. Thus, another one is retreating on our continent dividing line, destroying the OSCE space," Lavrov said.
He says that the current situation is a direct consequence of Western countries' attempts to ensure their dominance through "shameless use of the OSCE to aggressively push narrow selfish interests and deliberately destroy the basic principle of consensus and the very culture of diplomacy."
In a 15-minute speech, Lavrov attacked Western countries, the European Union and NATO.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, James O'Brien, on the other hand, expressed the expectation that Malta, as the next chairman, will do an excellent job in 2024 and sent a message to Russia, which has been blocking the work of the organization since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.
"I am honored to be here, but this is a privilege and a choice. Now the choice is up to the countries that are trying to block the work of this organization to see if they are ready to stand with the civilized community...or if they want to continue the obstruction. In every case, the OSCE will work. But it's up to them to choose whether they want to be with us on this," O'Brien said.
The head of German diplomacy, Analena Berbock, said that she "will not allow Russia's game to destroy organizations that rely on peaceful coexistence and cooperation."
Part of the delegation boycotted Lavrov
Some of the delegations left the hall when it was Lavrov's turn to speak, among them the delegation of Ukraine. The delegation of the Czech Republic joined the boycott, announced the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavski on the X platform (formerly Twitter).
Lipavski stated that he did not listen to the speech of the head of the Russian delegation and believes that it would be more useful for his colleagues in charge of monitoring disinformation to be in the hall at that moment.
Ukraine and the Baltic countries, as a sign of protest over Lavrov's arrival, did not send their foreign ministers to Skopje.
The road to Skopje via Turkey and Greece
North Macedonia and Bulgaria opened the skies for the Russian minister's plane despite sanctions imposed after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, they still flew to Skopje via Turkey and Greece, because the official Sofia requested that the spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, who is on the list of sanctioned persons, not be on the plane.
Blinken and Lavrov have not met
Lavrov passed by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who was in Skopje on Wednesday evening.
After the meeting with the Chairman of the OSCE, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, and the Head of State, Blinken also attended an informal dinner with other ministers and ambassadors of the OSCE member states.
After that he left the country.
One of the few who met with Lavrov at the ministerial meeting is his Hungarian colleague Peter Sijarto, as evidenced by the photo on the Russian minister's profile on platform X.
Lavrov also spoke with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. Only the Russian side on social networks praised Lavrov's meeting on the sidelines of the meeting.
German Foreign Minister Analena Berbok has not yet scheduled a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the summit.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, welcomed Lavrov, as well as the representatives of the other participants. And Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski said that he will not meet with the Russian minister.
Kovačevski assessed that "this is absolutely not a diplomatic victory for Russia, but a diplomatic victory for the OSCE, given that the functioning of the OSCE has been called into question."
"The people of Ukraine deserve peace and the war must stop, achieving a just and sustainable peace is imperative. This war continues to undermine the foundations of the OSCE, so as a key security issue for our region, the central priority of our presidency is essential support for Ukraine," Kovachevsky said. .
Malta left for Friday
On Friday, the second and final day of the summit, Malta's bid to take over the OSCE chairmanship next year should be formalized. Osmani indicated that the focus of the conference should be on the people of the OSCE region and what is best for them.
"We are witnessing the devastating effects of the ongoing aggression on the people of Ukraine and we are witnessing the unacceptable acts caused by a government that has abandoned the values and principles of the OSCE in pursuit of its political goals through the use of force and aggression. The OSCE must serve as an active platform for accountability in times when tensions and conflicts are on the rise," said Osmani.
The OSCE has key instruments for security and is becoming relevant for the security of Eurasia, said OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmidt in Skopje.
"The OSCE is a possible force for change for many citizens in the OSCE region. It's really about the people. With your support, the OSCE can make a special contribution to a better future," she said.
At today's meeting, the representatives of the member countries are also discussing the organization's budget, which has not yet been adopted.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the OSCE as an organization has faced difficulties in functioning due to Moscow's veto on decisions that must be made by consensus of 57 member states.
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