English Section

Moscow fumes as Warsaw bars Russia’s Lavrov from security talks

20.11.2022 09:00
Warsaw has said it wants to bar Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov from attending a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) next month. Moscow has called the decision "unprecedented and provocative."
Audio
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before a meeting of Russian President Putin with members of the Russian Security Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 18 November 2022.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before a meeting of Russian President Putin with members of the Russian Security Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 18 November 2022.EPA/MIKHAIL METZEL / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is not expected to visit the OSCE Ministerial Council in early December in Łódź. The Polish Foreign Ministry's position has been conveyed to the Russian side by diplomatic note”, Polish foreign ministry spokesperson Łukasz Jasina told state news agency PAP.

Poland currently has the rotating chairmanship of the OSCE, which is the world’s biggest security bloc.

“Following Russia's illegal aggression against Ukraine on February 24th a number of Russian nationals were added to the list of sanctioned individuals, including Minister Lavrov”, the Polish chairmanship of the grouping said in a statement.

The Polish government’s decision to block Lavrov's participation in the talks provoked a response from the Russian foreign ministry, which called it “unprecedented and provocative”.

“Not only did Warsaw discredit itself, it also caused irreparable damage to the credibility of the organization as a whole”, the ministry said.

In the wake of the decision, the Kremlin is counting on the support of “all sensible politicians,” adding that instead of Lavrov, Russia will be represented by Permanent Representative to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich.

This is the second time that Lavrov has been denied entry to Poland since the invasion. Poland has also refused to issue visas to members of the Russian OSCE delegation who were scheduled to attend the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Warsaw in November.

(jh)

Source: PAP