US Secretary of State leaves OSCE meeting before Russian Foreign Minister arrived
Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State left Skopje, where the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial meeting is being held, before Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived.
Source: European Pravda; Radio Liberty
According to European Pravda, the Ukrainian delegation had been aware of this move by the US the day before. However, the US Foreign Service did not want to publicly present this change in the schedule as a boycott of the ministerial meeting due to Russian participation.
Blinken met with Bujar Osmani, North Macedonian Foreign Minister, in Skopje yesterday.
The US Secretary of State also participated in a working dinner organised on the summit's sidelines, after which he left Skopje.
Most likely, Blinken was the one referred to by the Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba when he stated the availability of colleagues who would attend the dinner without Lavrov but would not stay for the plenary session.
After the trip to North Macedonia, Blinken is scheduled to visit Israel.
"It's great to be here in Skopje...with all our colleagues. North Macedonia is an ally and partner of the United States and all our NATO allies. We see this every day. We strongly support the work that you are doing to strengthen democratic institutions," Blinken said.
On Twitter, he wrote, that "despite Russia’s obstructionism, we remain fully committed to the OSCE, its founding principles, and the important work that is achieved."
Lavrov arrived in North Macedonia last night. The Russian media reported that the plane with the Russian delegation was flying to Skopje via Greece, not Bulgaria – allegedly because of Sofia's decision that the flight permit does not apply to Maria Zakharova, the press secretary of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Earlier, commenting on the granted permission, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry clarified that it did not apply to other members of Lavrov's delegation who were under EU sanctions, and this was indicated in the relevant note from the Bulgarian side.
As is known, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and four EU states: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland – boycott the meeting in Skopje because of Lavrov's presence.
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