“The organization (OSCE – BNS) must answer to itself what its position is as an organization. Does it support Russian interests? Does it support European security? (…). Unfortunately it doesn’t anymore because Russia blocks everything because Russia is a disruptor. We have to say very clearly and directly: we need security from Russia, not with Russia,” G. Landsbergis said on Tuesday before the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
The minister said this in response to reports that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in the OSCE meeting in North Macedonia. The Baltic countries and Kyiv have already announced that they will boycott the event.
“(…) Russia started a war not only against Ukraine, it started a war against all of us, against the values we believe in. Now that we see the full context, we see Lavrov being put back at the OSCE table and we are trying to define European security with Russia? How many times do we have to make this mistake?” asked G. Landsbergis.
According to him, in this way “we invite Russia to discuss not only what is against our interests, but also what is directed against our existence.”
“We will return when Russia changes,” the minister added.
According to the joint statement of the ministers of the three Baltic states, Lavrov’s participation risks “legitimizing the aggressor Russia as a legitimate member of the community of free countries”, thus minimizing its crimes.
“We, the ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, will not be a part of this and will not share responsibility for the consequences it will cause,” the statement reads.
The statement of the ministers of the Baltic countries states that the international community has watched for the last two years how one member of the OSCE tried to “actively and brutally destroy another member”. They emphasize that Russia’s actions in Ukraine grossly violate international law, including the United Nations Charter, and are therefore an attack on the fundamental principles of the OSCE.
Lavrov said on Monday that North Macedonia, which has joined Western sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, would allow him to attend the annual OSCE meeting. Russia is a member of this international organization.
Russian state media reported that European Union member Bulgaria informed Moscow that it would allow Lavrov’s plane to cross its airspace.
The OSCE meeting in Macedonia will take place in the second half of this week. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken should also attend it.
Despite the fact that the representatives of Russia and the United States are preparing to participate in the same event, it is announced that their meeting is not scheduled.
US officials have not engaged in high-level contacts with the Russians since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, although Mr. Blinken had a brief encounter with Mr. Lavrov during the G-20 meeting in India in March.
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2024-08-06 07:44:57
