Russia blocks appointment of Malta as OSCE chairman for next year

Russia blocked the election of Malta as a state that will chair the Organisation in 2024 at a meeting of diplomats of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna.

Source: Brussels correspondent of Radio Liberty Rikard Jozwiak, writes European Pravda

Details: According to Jozwiak, on Thursday 23 November, the Russian Federation blocked the appointment of Malta as the presiding state in the OSCE, as well as four top officials of the organisation, including the Secretary General.

Quote: "They [the Russians - ed.] want Lavrov to be welcomed in North Macedonia next week for the OSCE ministerial, taking the final decision," he added.

🇷🇺 has already blocked 🇪🇪 to be OSCE chair in 2024. Now it is not giving consent to 🇲🇹 as alternative OSCE chair + Top4 OSCE posts (like sec gen) as a package. They want Lavrov to be welcomed in 🇲🇰 next week for the OSCE ministerial, taking the final decision

— Rikard Jozwiak (@RikardJozwiak) November 23, 2023

The OSCE makes all decisions by consensus, which Russia uses to blackmail the organisation.

Background: Earlier this week, Russia, along with Belarus, vetoed Estonia's approval of the next OSCE chair in 2024. Moscow has repeatedly opposed such an appointment since 2020, citing the fact that Estonia is a member of NATO.

Against the backdrop of Russian opposition, Malta received an offer to take over the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2024. It was seen as a compromise, since Malta declared neutrality, although it condemned Russian aggression and, as a member of the EU, joined the sanctions regime against Russia.

This is not the first month the OSCE is looking for ways to maintain the functioning of the organisation despite the position of Russia, which refused to cooperate but can veto any decision.

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