Expelling Russia from OSCE vital for saving organization, Ukraine's Foreign Minister says
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba (Photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
In order to rescue the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), it is necessary to find a way to expel Russia from there, according to the briefing of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba.
The Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine decided to speak in defense of North Macedonia, which allowed the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, to participate in the OSCE meeting in Skopje. He reminds that throughout the entire year, the Macedonian authorities have consistently supported Ukraine.
Kuleba mentions that Lavrov was invited to the meeting because some OSCE member countries believe it will save the organization from complete dissolution due to the need to approve the budget, decide on chairmanship, and appoint leadership.
"But I believe that if we truly want to save the OSCE, then we must either reorganize the OSCE without Russia or find a way to expel Russia from the OSCE. That's all," added the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is worth noting that despite the war against Ukraine, Russia continues to be a member state of the OSCE. It also influences crucial decisions within the organization. Recently, Moscow blocked Estonia's chairmanship in the OSCE.
Lavrov's OSCE meeting
It was recently revealed that Bulgaria would open its airspace for the aircraft of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to reach the OSCE meeting in Skopje (North Macedonia).
After this, Ukraine announced that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, would not participate in the OSCE meeting.
Similar decisions were made by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
