Goli Innocent 
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov has slammed the European Union (EU) and United States (US) top diplomats for skipping a Ministerial Council meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Lavrov , however, described them as “cowards” while speaking at a news conference in the North Macedonian capital of Skopje.
This led the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to leave the event because they were “afraid of an honest talk” at the 57-state forum.
“Neither the Ukrainian minister nor the ministers from Poland and the Baltic states were present at this event.
“Blinken and Borrell also left, as I understand it. Why is this happening? They probably think that by doing so, they emphasize their intention to isolate Russia,” he said, adding, “I think they’re just cowards, afraid of any honest conversation with the facts.”
According to the minister’s assessment, due to this fear, Western countries deny visas to Russian diplomats attending international events on their soil.
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“This is elementary cowardice. In two years of the West’s hysterical hybrid war against Russia, we have seen that Western countries do not have clear and sane arguments,” he alleged.
In response to a question about what military threats Russia sees on Ukrainian territory, Lavrov said that plans to build a British navy base in the Sea of Azov and a US base in the Black Sea, are “unacceptable under any circumstances.”
Lavrov criticised Western countries for their unconstructive approach to the OSCE’s work, saying that rather than trying to solve the current crisis, they are more concerned with extending the mandates of some administrative officials who have directly violated the organisations’ principles.
When asked if the chances of saving the OSCE have improved following the meeting in Skopje, Lavrov replied, “The chances have increased, but not for OSCE preservation.”
North Macedonia hosted the two-day OSCE Ministerial Council meeting, which concluded on Friday. It was attended by 40 countries.
