Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania on Tuesday said their foreign ministers would boycott a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in North Macedonia this week because Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov intends to take part, Reuters reports.
It would be the first time Lavrov takes part in a meeting of the OSCE since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, prompting sweeping Western sanctions.
Russia's top diplomat has said he will join the meeting if Bulgaria, North Macedonia's eastern neighbour, opens its air space for him. Lavrov said some Western countries had requested meetings with him.
Bulgarian air space is closed to Russian aircraft as part of European Union sanctions imposed in response to Russia's war in Ukraine.
Nikolenko said Russia had abused the rules of consensus in the organisation, resorted to "blackmail and open threats" and had also been holding three Ukrainian OSCE representatives in prison for 500 days.
