Ukraine to boycott OSCE meeting at the Foreign Ministry level due to Russia's participation

The Ukrainian delegation will boycott the OSCE meeting at the level of foreign ministers in the capital of North Macedonia. The reason for this decision was the intention of the Russian delegation to participate in the meeting.

Ukraine's diplomatic service noted that the presence of representatives of the aggressor country, Russia, at the ministerial meeting would only exacerbate the crisis into which Russia has driven the OSCE. This was reported on Facebook by Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko.

According to him, Ukraine highly appreciates the efforts of North Macedonia as the presiding state in 2023 and personally of Foreign Minister Buyar Osmani for prioritizing the issue of countering Russian aggression. At the same time, the ministry reminded that it is Russia that consistently destroys the OSCE by abusing the consensus rule.

"Resorting to blackmail and open threats, the Russian Federation has systematically blocked consensus on key issues. The blocking of Estonia's candidacy for the OSCE chairmanship in 2024 was also arbitrary. In addition, Russia has illegally detained three Ukrainian OSCE representatives who have been in prison for more than 500 days. Russia has created an existential crisis in the OSCE and turned the organization into a hostage to its whims and aggression," said Nikolenko.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson also emphasized that the presence of the Russian delegation at the ministerial meeting is unacceptable and will only harm the OSCE. Nikolenko emphasized that the civilized world should work to save the OSCE from Russia, not send signals about the possibility of returning to forms of cooperation.

Despite the boycott of the OSCE meeting at the level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ministry assured that Ukraine remains committed to the OSCE principles and is ready to continue working with partners to restore respect for the Helsinki Final Act.

As a reminder, after blocking Estonia's 2024 OSCE chairmanship, Russia prevented an alternative vote to elect Malta as the OSCE chair.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained that he could not attend a meeting of OSCE foreign ministers in Skopje, North Macedonia. He even sent a letter to the government of this country demanding to "ensure his presence in Skopje."

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