Blinken and Lavrov are expected to face off at the OSCE meeting in Malta

2024-12-05 09:24:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken are expected to clash today over the war in Ukraine during an annual meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Malta.

While Ukraine will be the main political issue, during this meeting it is expected to formally approve agreements reached in the last moments on issues including high positions for security and human rights in this organization, where Western powers often accuse Russia of violates human rights and international norms.

The meeting of foreign ministers and other officials from 57 member states from North America, Europe and Central Asia this year has been overshadowed by the return of US President-elect Donald Trump, whose advisers are considering proposals to ended the war that would have given Russia large parts of Ukraine.

With Trump set to take office in about a month, Western powers are set to reiterate their support for Ukraine, while Russia is likely to repeat its criticism of the OSCE.

Lavrov declared last year that the OSCE "is essentially turning into an appendage of NATO and the European Union."

This is Lavrov's first visit to the European Union since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The OSCE is the successor to an organization established during the Cold War to engage East and West in dialogue. However, in recent years, and especially after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has used the right of veto, which every member country has, to block many key decisions, often paralyzing the organization.

This year, however, the countries blocking the OSCE budget deal are Armenia and Azerbaijan, according to diplomats, because of disagreements over their conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Diplomats say an agreement was reached this week to fill four senior positions at the OSCE, including that of secretary general, which will be filled by Turkey's Feridun Sinirlioglu./ Rel