Western diplomats on Thursday criticized comments made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Malta.
Lavrov – whose visit to Malta was his first to an EU member state since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – said the West has fuelled the war in Ukraine and is responsible for the emergence of a new Cold War that could stumble into direct confrontation.
“The whole thing could move into a hot stage,” Lavrov added at the two-day OSCE foreign ministers’ meeting, while claiming that Western states had taken control of the OSCE.
His US counterpart Antony Blinken described Lavrov’s statements as a “tsunami of disinformation.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha addressed Lavrov in his speech as “the war criminal at this table” without mentioning him by name.
“Our peace plan is: Russia should leave Ukraine and leave us alone,” Sybiha said.
He emphasized that Russia is the greatest threat to global security – not only because of its attack on Ukraine, but also because of its military cooperation with Iran and North Korea.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also accused Lavrov of “unbearable lies” about the war in Ukraine.
“You can fool yourself, but you cannot fool us, the 1.3 billion people in [the OSCE region],” she told Lavrov directly at the meeting.
In her speech, Baerbock called on the international community, and in particular the OSCE member states, to continue to work for the organization’s fundamental principles of peace, freedom and security, despite some differences of opinion.
The OSCE is one of the few dialogue forums for security and democracy where Western representatives still engage directly with Russia.
While Moscow has withdrawn from several other European institutions, it has remained in the OSCE, seeing it as a platform for communicating its position on the war in Ukraine to the 57 member states.
In his speech, Lavrov warned that the OSCE could fall apart if it no longer provides room for solving problems.
For example, the organization could have played a role in the investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Germany, Lavrov argued.
“The West is doing everything it can to undermine” the OSCE, Lavrov later told reporters.
Criticism of Lavrov’s visit
Lavrov’s attendance at the summit in Malta came in for criticism from a number of Western diplomats ahead of the meeting, including from Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.
“Mr Lavrov is coming here to lie about the Russian invasion and what Russia is doing in Ukraine,” said Sikorski. “I will not be sitting at a table with Mr Lavrov.”
Sikorski later left the room during Lavrov’s speech along with representatives from the Czech Republic, Ukraine and the Baltic states.
Germany’s Baerbock also slammed Russia’s participation.
“Just as Russia uses bombs and drones to target peace and security in Europe, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is also taking the axe to the OSCE,” said Baerbock.
“We will not allow Putin to bomb our common peace into dust and ashes, nor will we allow Russia to play its cynical game here without comment,” Baerbock said.
The comments came after Malta on Wednesday cancelled the visa of Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who was also scheduled to attend the meeting, after complaints from the Baltic states.
OSCE in difficulties
The OSCE has been in crisis since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Russia has vetoed several important decisions that require consensus. The other member states accuse Moscow of undermining and blocking the organization’s work.
For three years, the OSCE’s budget has only been managed provisionally.
In addition, its four top posts, including that of secretary general, have been vacant since September.
The member states were unable to agree on a proper successor after Helga Schmid’s term of office ended.
The meeting in Malta will last two days. A decision on the budget and an agreement on the vacant top posts are expected on Friday.
