2023-12-01 12:41:16
His Western colleagues would avoid him: “They are afraid of any honest conversation with facts,” said the Russian Foreign Minister. He sees no reason for his country to change course in Ukraine.
According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russia is not inclined to change course in Ukraine. There are no signs that the government in Kiev is moving towards a political solution, Lavrov said on Friday on the sidelines of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Skopje. There is no reason for Russia to change the goals of its special military operation in Ukraine.
Russia invaded the neighboring ex-Soviet republic in February 2022 and annexed parts of the country. As a prerequisite for negotiations, the Moscow government has in the past demanded that Ukraine “recognize the new status quo”. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian troops would advance in all directions in Ukraine, according to the official RIA news agency. Shoigu also announced naval exercises for next year. Details were not initially known.
“Cowardly”: Blinken and Borrell left
Lavrov used his traditional press conference at the end of the OSCE annual meeting to sharply criticize his Western colleagues, whom he accused of “cowardice.” Both US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell have left and avoided direct talks with him, Lavrov said on Friday.
“They probably believe that this is underlining their intention to isolate Russia. But I think they are just cowards, they are afraid of any honest conversation with facts,” Lavrov said. In fact, Blinken and Borrell came to Skopje on Wednesday at the invitation of the North Macedonian hosts. Blinken, for example, then traveled on to Israel, where the situation is currently extremely tense due to the Gaza war.
Ukraine and Baltic states boycott meetings
Lavrov’s participation in the OSCE meeting is not without controversy. The previous year, the Polish OSCE chairmanship at the time made it impossible for him to travel. Because the current chairmanship country, North Macedonia, decided otherwise, the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states boycotted the annual meeting. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP), who publicly criticized Lavrov’s disinvitation last year, met the Russian chief diplomat informally on the sidelines of the meeting. According to a spokeswoman for Schallenberg, the conversation in front of the conference center took place at the request and in consultation with the OSCE Chairmanship and discussed efforts to extend the terms of office of the four top OSCE officials.
After most of the foreign ministers had already left Skopje, the OSCE meeting continued on Friday with discussions on outstanding issues. What is particularly urgent is a solution regarding the occupation of the OSCE General Secretariat and the three top OSCE diplomats in the areas of democracy, media freedom and minority rights. Their terms of office expire on Sunday, and the North Macedonian OSCE Chairmanship made intensive efforts to extend it for at least a few months. A crisis that might potentially threaten the organization’s existence was averted in advance. North Macedonia persuaded OSCE states to accept Malta as the 2024 chairmanship country following Estonia’s candidacy was blocked by Russia for more than a year. (APA/Archyde.com/dpa)
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