“A war criminal”: this is how the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, was described by his Ukrainian counterpart Andriï Sybiga, during an OSCE meeting, this Thursday, December 5. The ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are meeting in Malta, giving rise to tensions between the representatives of kyiv and Moscow, while this is Sergei Lavrov's first trip to a country of the European Union since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Ukraine continues to fight for its right to exist. And the Russian war criminal present at this table must know it: Ukraine will win this right and justice will prevail,” said the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Andriï Sybiga. Russia “lies” when it talks about peace and represents “the biggest threat” to security in Europe, he said.
The heads of Polish and Latvian diplomacy left the room when the Russian minister took the floor to accuse the West of exploiting and marginalizing the OSCE, followed by half a dozen of their colleagues. “Until Russia puts an end to this brutal war, its membership in the OSCE should be suspended,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski also said.
“Putin’s warnings”
Sergei Lavrov defended himself by accusing the United States, whose Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also present in Malta, of “destabilizing the Eurasian continent”, judging that the new “cold war” threatens to become “hot” . He also accused Western countries of not paying attention to “the warnings” of President Vladimir Putin, while Western capitals are considering sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. .
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“I regret that our colleague Mr. Lavrov left the room, not giving me the courtesy of listening to us as we listened to him. And of course, our Russian colleague is very good at drowning listeners under a tsunami of disinformation” , replied Antony Blinken. The meeting comes at a delicate time for Ukraine, as US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to push for a quick deal to end the war.
The OSCE, founded in 1975 to ease tensions between East and West during the Cold War, has 57 members, from Turkey to Mongolia, including Canada, as well as the United States, Ukraine and Russia. The OSCE sends observers to conflicts and elections around the world. It also runs programs to combat human trafficking and ensure media freedom.
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Paralysis of the OSCE
A spokesperson for Malta, the host country of the meeting, said Sergey Lavrov was subject to an EU assets freeze, but was not banned from traveling and that he had been invited in order to “keep certain channels of communication open”. The organization has found itself paralyzed since the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, with Russia having vetoed several major decisions requiring consensus.
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The positions of secretary general and three other senior officials of the organization have been vacant since September, due to lack of agreement on their successors. Ambassadors agreed on Turkish diplomat Feridun Sinirlioglu to become secretary general, but the decision must be approved by ministers meeting in Malta. The latter will also have to agree on the country which will chair the OSCE in 2026 and 2027. In 2025, Finland, which joined NATO last year, will take over the presidency.
