Polish MFA chief joins boycott of OSCE summit over Lavrov's attendance
Foreign Minister of Poland, Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk (Photo: Getty Images)
Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk, has declined to participate in the upcoming summit of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is set to attend, according to PolskieRadio.
The Polish government official thus joined the boycott of the OSCE meeting, which was previously officially announced by the heads of the foreign ministries of Ukraine and the Baltic countries.
"The fact that the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs participates on an equal footing with other partners in the meeting of an organization aimed at building peace and security in Europe while being the Minister of Foreign Affairs of a country that is an aggressor responsible for war crimes in Ukraine is an unacceptable fact for us," emphasized the Polish minister.
Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk announces in the Sejm his decision not to participate in this summit, scheduled for Thursday, November 30, in Skopje, North Macedonia.
"Poland will also not participate in this meeting at the level of any deputy ministers of foreign affairs," he added.
OSCE summit boycott
Previously, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, stated that Ukraine would boycott the meeting in North Macedonia due to the announced participation of representatives of the aggressor country. He added that Russia was abusing the platform of this organization.
Moreover, on Tuesday, November 28, the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia also declared their decision not to participate in the OSCE meeting because the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov would be present. The North Macedonian authorities, currently chairing the organization, granted permission for Lavrov's visit to Skopje.
Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, mentioned having confirmation from some colleagues that they also would not attend the OSCE ministers' meeting. According to him, there are over four countries that disagree with Lavrov's participation.
