Airspace closed for Russian planes: Lavrov complained that he could not attend the OSCE Foreign Ministers' meeting in Skopje

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained that he could not attend the meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which will be held in the capital of North Macedonia from November 30 to December 1. Due to sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, North Macedonia's airspace is closed to Russian aircraft.

North Macedonia noted that a decision on whether Lavrov will be allowed to attend the OSCE meeting in Skopje will be made in the coming days. This was reported by Barron's.

Lavrov may not be allowed to attend the OSCE meeting in North Macedonia as the Russian minister is under European sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Therefore, he sent an official letter to the government of this country, which currently holds the OSCE chairmanship. In it, according to North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, Lavrov "demanded to ensure his presence in Skopje."

"There are several problems with this demand," Osmani emphasized.

In particular, he noted, North Macedonia joined the sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine and closed its airspace to Russian planes, just as neighboring countries did. Therefore, for Lavrov to participate in the OSCE meeting, "some logistical efforts need to be made."

Osmani also noted that, according to the current rules, representatives of all 57 OSCE member states must attend the OSCE meeting. The possible implementation of this rule is being decided.

"It will depend on the decisions that will be made in the coming days. I hope that we will all be able to be present in Skopje," said the North Macedonian Foreign Minister.

Last year, Lavrov was not present at the OSCE ministerial meeting in Poland. Poland refused to allow him to enter the country. Therefore, Russia was forced to send a delegation headed by Russia's permanent representative to the OSCE, Alexander Lukashevich, to the meeting. Moscow called Warsaw's decision "unprecedented and provocative."

Earlier, Lavrov boasted of Russia's diplomatic success after meeting with Hamas terrorists.

According to him, the aggressor country is allegedly not in "any international isolation" but interacts "with the countries of the world majority," where it is allegedly seen as a "good friend" and "reliable partner."

It was also reported that Lavrov lied that Russia had handed over lists of deported children to Ukraine. The lie of the Russian Foreign Minister, voiced by him at the UN, was exposed by Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets. He emphasized that Russia never transfers any information either directly or through intermediaries. This applies to information from both the territory of Russia and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

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