Baltic states join Ukraine in boycotting OSCE meeting due to Russia's attendance

Tuesday, 28 November 2023, 16:29

The foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have said that they will join Ukraine in its boycott of this week’s OSCE ministerial meeting in Skopje due to the attendance of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Source: European Pravda, citing a joint statement by Krišjānis Kariņš, Gabrielius Landsbergis and Margus Tsahkna, Foreign Ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia

Quote: "Russia’s war of aggression and atrocities against its sovereign and peaceful neighbour Ukraine blatantly violate international law, including the UN Charter, and constitute an attack on the OSCE and its underlying principles."

Details: The ministers stressed that Sergei Lavrov's presence at the meeting risks legitimising the aggressor as a rightful member of the community of free nations, trivialising the horrific crimes Russia has been committing, and tolerating Russia's flagrant violation and contempt of the fundamental commitments and principles of the OSCE.

The statement says that the OSCE was originally designed to build European security, prevent conflicts and preserve peace, and Russia, through its unlawful and brutal actions, has proved time and again that it is not a security partner to Europe.

"In fact, today Europe needs security from and against Russia, rather than together with it," the ministers said.

Tsakhkna said Russia would use this opportunity to spread its propaganda and undermine the unity of the West.

He stressed that Estonia cannot sit at the same table with the aggressor and bear responsibility for the consequences that Lavrov's presence could lead to, because this contradicts fundamental European principles.

"The fact is that while the OSCE meeting is being held in Skopje, Russia's war machine is attacking innocent Ukrainians and deporting children without blinking an eye. Lavrov's place is at a special tribunal, not the OSCE table," Tsakhkna emphasised.

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