EU's Borrell still attends OSCE summit despite boycott of Russia's Lavrov
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, explains why he will still attend the OSCE meeting, where the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be present at a joint press conference with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Brussels.
"We have to go, we are a member of this organization. We have to present our views and counter the views of Russia," said the head of EU diplomacy.
He also stated that he would not have the opportunity to have a conversation with Lavrov because he would have to return immediately to participate in a meeting of the European Defense Agency.
"But I don't want the seat of EU to be empty... Russia will present its point of view, and we, Europeans, will have to present ours. But I will not have a direct discussion with Lavrov," he explained.
Countries are boycotting the OSCE meeting
Earlier, it became known that Bulgaria would open its airspace for the plane of the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, allowing him to attend the OSCE meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia.
Today, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the decision to allow Lavrov to attend the OSCE meeting, noting that the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba would not participate in the meeting.
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia also stated that they would not participate in the OSCE meeting because Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov would be present.
