The OSCE Ministerial Council meets on Thursday and Friday in Malta. All the heads of diplomacy of the countries associated in this organization appeared there. There is also among them Sergei LavrovRussian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Lavrov's presence in Malta as part of the two-day summit is the first visit by an envoy Kremlin in a Member State European Union since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Previously, this situation occurred in 2021 during a similar meeting in Sweden.
Why did Lavrov come to Malta? How come a representative of the country that attacked Ukraine ended up in the salons? The head of Polish diplomacy Radosław Sikorski he explained before the meeting that Lavrov was invited to Malta “very controversial”. The politician also announced that he would not listen to Lavrov's lies and would leave the room.
Lavrov mocked the OSCE. Sikorski left
– This situation should not have happened. Member States NATO and the EU should have a common position on this matter – Russian representatives should not participate in these meetings – says Interia former diplomat Robert Pszczel, former director of the NATO Information Office in Moscow.
– A situation in which disputes, discrepancies and dilemmas arise between democratic states regarding the presence of a representative of the aggressor state is the best illustration of the problem. We need to think about the added value of the OSCE in its current form. I say this as a person who dealt with this field as a young diplomat. At the moment we are dealing with a situation in which First of all, Russia trampled on all possible OSCE principles, agreements and understandings. She brought the organization to such a state that its value is now negligible – adds Pszczel.
Sikorski – as he had previously announced – left as soon as the Russian started speaking. The delegations of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic also left the meeting hall.
– I told the Russian delegation that we will not fall for this cascade of lies. We know what they're doing. They are trying to rebuild the Russian Empire. There is no consent to this. Russia is destroying Ukraine, but also the future of its country. Until it ends this brutal war, its OSCE membership should be suspended, he later explained Sikorski.
Lavrov humiliated Blinken. “He did what he wanted”
– If a situation arose where there were representatives of different countries, then… they should go out just for Lavrov's speech. I believe that the behavior of the representatives of these several countries, including Minister Sikorski, is absolutely right. In this case, those who left the room did the right thing, emphasizes Pszczel.
– I am absolutely convinced that we will not have to wait long for the reaction of Russian propaganda, which will tell us how the West is divided, because some left and some did not – emphasizes Interia's interlocutor.
Interestingly, most of the diplomats who listened to the Russian politician remained in the hall during Lavrov's speech. Among them was, among others: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. However, when the American spoke, Lavrov left the room.
“I regret that our colleague Mr. Lavrov left the room and was not kind enough to listen to me as we listened to him,” Blinken said, as quoted by AFP.
– Lavrov's exit shows that the OSCE formula cannot be allowed to be used for propaganda and disinformation activities. Russia receives a free platform that it will use for this purpose. There is no value in any dialogue with Russia. I think this should give food for thought to those who have been treated this way. Lavrov simply did what he wanted, Pszczel notes.