Russia denounced a “provocative” decision by Warsaw on Saturday after Poland denied Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov entry into the country for a ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
“Poland’s decision (…) is provocative and unprecedented,” Russian diplomacy said in a statement.
“Warsaw has not only discredited itself in this way, but has caused irreparable damage to the authority of the entire Organization” for security and cooperation in Europe, the statement added.
Poland, which will host the OSCE ministerial meeting in early December, announced on Friday that it had denied Lavrov entry into its territory.
“We hope that the Russian Federation will choose the members of its delegation in accordance with the current rules,” a source in the annual rotating presidency, currently held by Warsaw, told Agence France Presse.
The same source added that the Russian delegation should not “include people sanctioned by the European Union (EU)” in the wake of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine on February 24, including Sergei Lavrov.
“We are convinced that all reasonable politicians share the opinion of the Russian side that such actions are unacceptable,” Russian diplomacy reacted.
“These destructive decisions of the Poles […] they are pushing the OSCE into the abyss,” he said, accusing the organization of becoming a “camp” for “anti-Russian exercises.”
The meeting of the 57 foreign affairs ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will take place on December 1 and 2 in Lodz, a city in central Poland.
The Russian delegation will be headed by the Russian ambassador to the OSCE, Alexander Lukashovich, according to Moscow.
The OSCE has been based in Vienna, Austria, since it was created in 1975 at the height of the Cold War to promote East-West dialogue.
The annual OSCE ministerial meeting, which Lavrov usually attends, is the central body of this international organization, responsible for its decisions, providing an opportunity for foreign ministers to discuss the work of the OSCE in all areas of exercise.
Source: TSF
