'Leave me alone': Russia's Lavrov faces boycott at OSCE as he attempts to yap
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov (kremlin.ru)
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov asked to "leave him alone" during his speech at the OSCE meeting. In turn, a number of ministers decided to leave the hall during his speech and not listen to the representative of the aggressor country, according to a video of Lavrov's speech and The Guardian.
What Lavrov said
During his speech at the OSCE meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia, Lavrov began to present various Russian narratives. He accused NATO and the European Union of allegedly "destroying the military-political dimension of the OSCE with their own hands."
He also says that the OSCE is supposedly "on the brink of a precipice." He mentioned the sanctions imposed against Russia for its aggression against Ukraine.
"The United States and Europe have imposed thousands of sanctions against Russia and put an end to broad practical cooperation between the East and the West," said the Russian Foreign Minister.
Lavrov's boycott
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, called the remarks of the Russian minister deceptive and emphasized, "We will not agree to Russia's attempt to divide Europe into spheres of influence."
"Russia's actions violate the rules of the international order, and Russia's attempts to blame others for its own choices are transparent," said Rasmussen, expressing his disappointment with Russia.
Some high-ranking officials also decided to leave the OSCE meeting while the Russian minister was speaking. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechia, Jan Lipavský, also boycotted Lavrov. He wrote that he did not listen to the speech of the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In turn, Lavrov hysterically pleaded, "Leave me alone."
"Can you leave me alone, please? Thank you," said the Russian Foreign Minister.
OSCE meeting and scandal over Russia's presence
Today and tomorrow, the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting takes place in Skopje, North Macedonia. A scandal erupted after it became known that Bulgaria temporarily opened its airspace for the plane of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, allowing him to participate in the OSCE meeting.
Due to Russia's participation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, decided to boycott the event in protest. The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania also took a similar position.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken already stated that he would participate in the OSCE meeting but would not meet with Lavrov. The High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, ignored the ministerial meeting, although he had previously said he would be present.
Read more about the OSCE meeting and Ukraine's diplomatic standoff in the RBC-Ukraine article.
