Borrell to attend OSCE meeting boycotted by Ukraine and Baltic states over Lavrov's visit

Borrell to attend OSCE meeting boycotted by Ukraine and Baltic states over Lavrov's visit

Kyiv  •  UNN

November 28 2023, 04:48 PM • 26424 views

EU representative Josep Borrell to attend OSCE meeting boycotted by Ukraine and Baltic states over admission of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell will attend the OSCE ministerial meeting in Skopje on Wednesday, which is being boycotted by the foreign ministers of Ukraine and the Baltic states because of the admission of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He said this at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Brussels on Tuesday, UNN reports .

I have some experience of communicating with Mr. Lavrov in difficult circumstances. I will go to the OSCE meeting - we must go, we are members of this organization and we must present our point of view... So I will go... I do not want the EU seat to be empty. I will be there. (...) Russia will present its point of view, and we, Europeans, will have to present ours, but I will not have a direct discussion,

said the EU diplomat.

Borrell indicated that he "will not have the opportunity to talk to Minister Lavrov" because he has to return to Brussels for a meeting of the European Defense Agency.

To recap,

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will boycott the OSCE ministerial meeting over the decision to allow Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to attend.

Later, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the boycott .