Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, James O’Brien, at the summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in progress in Skopje, has called on Russia to end the violation of OSCE principles.

“I add my voice, with those of my colleagues, who call on Russia to end the violation of the basic principles of this organization, but I am not sure if it is still willing to listen to us,” O’Brien said.

He emphasized that despite the states that have tried to block the work of the organization, the OSCE will continue to function.

“Now it is the choice of states that have tried to block the work of this organization to see their readiness if they will stand with the civilized community, based on the Helsinki Final Act, or want to continue their obstacles. The OSCE will be fine, nonetheless, but it is important for them to choose whether they will continue to be with us in this effort,” O’Brien declared.

Diplomats from 57 member countries of the organization, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, are participating in the OSCE summit.

In his opening remarks, North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski, as the summit’s host, focused on the challenges that the OSCE has faced after Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.

“We have led the most difficult year for the OSCE, considering that the organization has faced a series of challenges in the light of Russia’s unjustified aggression against Ukraine. But I hope we will adopt decisions to elect the new chairman and the four most important positions in the OSCE, as well as the budget for the organization’s functioning,” Kovačevski said, highlighting the meeting during Wednesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Minister David Cameron.

“We must be aware that each country sends its messages about Russia’s unjustified aggression against a sovereign state in its own way in Ukraine. Some countries do this with their absence, and some with clearly expressed views,” Kovačevski said.

He added that Russian aggression against Ukraine has continued “with high intensity and serious and destructive consequences, confirming its injustice”.

“Every passing day and every lost life testify to the severity of aggression and the blatant violation of sovereignty and the Charter of the United Nations, the principles and commitments of the OSCE, but above all human values. The people of Ukraine deserve peace, and the fight must be stopped. Achieving peace remains imperative. This war continues to destroy the foundations of the OSCE,” Kovačevski declared.

Osmani: Russia violates human security and OSCE principles

The Foreign Minister of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, as the OSCE Chairperson, called on summit participants to reach a consensus on Malta as the next OSCE chair for 2024.

He said he believes that the consensus for Malta will be formalized on Friday by the participating states in the summit.

Osmani emphasized the fact that during North Macedonia’s chairmanship, the OSCE faced the consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, violating the rules of this organization and European and human security.

“I have three key messages as a predecessor. North Macedonia took over the chairmanship of the OSCE during an active war and a threat to European security and international peace. Russian aggression against Ukraine violated the rules of this organization and violated European and human security, dialogue, and destroyed the lives of people who want to live freely and without fear of war. In the pursuit of collective interest, selfish national interests are sought. This created a difficult operational environment, and against this, we remained determined to serve as defenders of OSCE values, and the majority of member states avoided defeatism [defeat] and posed challenges to the existence of the OSCE,” said Osmani.

Lavrov: OSCE has become a tool of the EU

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western countries and the North Atlantic Alliance of, as he put it, “destroying the OSCE”, which, according to him, is in a “bad state and uncertain prospects”.

“NATO and EU countries destroyed the military-political dimension of the OSCE. In 1999, NATO carried out a brutally unmasked aggression against Yugoslavia – an OSCE and UN member. And in 2008, violating UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the principle of the inviolability of borders in Europe from the Helsinki Final Act, Kosovo was taken from Serbia without any referendum,” Lavrov declared.

“It has been our tradition to have positive speeches, but this is not happening because the OSCE has become a tool of the European Union,” Lavrov said.

According to the Russian Foreign Minister, “The OSCE has remained silent when citizens are denied the right to use Russian” even though, according to him, “international acts guaranteed the use of languages for all minorities”.

Lavrov said that in Ukraine, the existence of the Russian community has been denied.

The Russian Foreign Minister called the efforts to accept Ukraine – led by a neo-Nazi regime – into the EU without queuing “shameful”.

He also spoke about the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia due to the aggression in Ukraine.

“In an attempt to destroy the Russian economy, the United States and its European satellites have imposed thousands of sanctions on Russia, putting an end to the wide-ranging cooperation between the East and the West in our once-common region,” he said.

According to Lavrov, Moldova is the next victim in the West’s hybrid war against Russia.

Some of the foreign ministers of the countries participating in the OSCE summit in Skopje boycotted the speech of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The participation of the Russian diplomat in the OSCE summit has caused a lot of debate and reactions; Russia, with its participation in this summit, is benefiting and strengthening its position on the international scene, despite the unjustified occupation of Ukraine.

Ukraine and the Baltic states, in a sign of dissatisfaction, did not send their foreign ministers to the Ministerial Council.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov held a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjártó on the sidelines of the OSCE summit in Skopje, Zakharova said.

No other meetings with the head of Russian diplomacy have been announced by the delegations so far.

Meanwhile, Albanian Foreign Minister Igli Hasani declared that Kosovo deserves a seat at the OSCE table and all other international forums.

“Let’s accept this. The organization is at an advantage. The question is simple. Will it ever be able to adapt to the objective realities of global development and become again a forum for discussing regional security issues based on a healthy determination of the principles of the act? Above all, the principle of equal rights for all participants. So far, there are more questions than answers, while life does not stand still. The process of European integration and equal cooperation is still unfolding, and constructive formats are already a continent based on the balance of interest,” stated the Albanian Foreign Minister.