The meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) started this Thursday in Malta with harsh criticism of Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrovhas gone to a European country for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began and it was the minister of this country, Andrii Sybiga, who He has not hesitated to call him a “war criminal” to his face.
As the agency has progressed ReutersSybiga has blurted out that her country continues fighting for its right to exist. “And the Russian war criminal at this table should know: Ukraine will win this right and justice will prevail,” he said. The head of Ukrainian diplomacy has spoken of the “atrocities” of a country presided over by Vladimir Putin“the greatest threat to the security of the world” and has accused the president of justifying the invasion under false pretexts and now of “lie” when he says he wants the moneyz.
“They talk about negotiations only to distract attention from what they really do. You have to watch their actions, not their words“, lamented Sybiga, before recalling the most recent wave of attacks against critical infrastructure and civilian targets in Ukraine.
But he wasn’t the only one. The most current manifestation of mistrust between Russia and the West has been this Thursday the exchange of reproaches between the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, and Lavrov. “The large-scale invasion of Ukraine by undermined the ideals of sovereignty and sovereign equality of nationsof the territorial integrity of States and self-determination of peoples,” said Blinken, sitting just 20 meters from the Russian minister. “We do not want to attack anyone. It is the United States that has attacked us now through the Ukrainian regime,” Lavrov replied, adding that Washington arms the ukrainians and helps them bombard Russian territory with long-range weapons.
As is customary in this type of meeting since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the vast majority of the 57 OSCE countries reproached Russia for its violation of the organization’s principles. Lavrov has withstood little of that criticism, as he left the room shortly after his own speech.one of the first, which has earned him Blinken to reproach him for his lack of courtesy for not staying to listen to others. Furthermore, the Secretary of State has accused him of “drown those who listen to him in a tsunami of misinformation“.
Denies the Bucha massacre
During his speech, the Russian minister has denied the Bucha massacre, committed in 2022 by Russian troops in that Ukrainian city; has accused the West of reactivating the Cold War and has warned that it could now turn hot”; and in general he has said that the US and its allies in the NATO and the EU They impose their vision on the entire planet. Given this, the representatives of six countries – the three Baltic countries plus Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Poland – have left the room in protest during Lavrov’s speech.
Despite this tension, the atmosphere in this Ministerial Council of Malta is somewhat more relaxed than last December at the meeting held in North Macedonia. For starters, there were far more protests over Lavrov’s presence in Skopje a year ago than there are in Malta now. Despite being on the sanctioned list, he has been granted the permission to travelas it is a diplomatic meeting and one of the last forums where Russia and the West still sit at the same table.
In fact, diplomatic sources consulted by Efe They believe that, despite the accusations of the attack on Ukraine, the tone against Russia has lowered and the OSCE is preparing for what an eventual turn may mean in the unconditional support that the US has been giving to Ukraine, once the Republican donald trump assume the presidency on January 20.