Russia and Belarus veto Estonia's election as OSCE chair
Illustrative Photo: Russia and Belarus Veto Estonia's Election as OSCE Chair (Getty Images)
The Russian Federation, along with Belarus, has vetoed the approval of Estonia as the next chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2024, writes ERR.
As stated by the official spokesperson of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bretta Sarrapuu, the veto was imposed during a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna.
"Since Estonia is also the only candidate from the European Union countries, we will definitely discuss this with other EU countries," she said.
According to her, a meeting of OSCE foreign ministers will take place in the capital of the current OSCE Chair, North Macedonia, next week. The issue is planned to be raised again at this meeting.
OSCE and Russia
It's worth noting that on January 16, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Bujar Osmani visited Ukraine with an official visit. In Kyiv, he met with Ukrainian leaders.
The OSCE representative also emphasized that Russia must immediately stop the war against Ukraine and withdraw its forces from the country's territory.
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that the only way to preserve the OSCE is to get rid of Russia from its composition.
