Russia and Ukraine confirmed on Wednesday December 4 the presence of their foreign ministers on Thursday December 5 at an OSCE meeting in Malta. A rare event bringing together senior officials from both countries.
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There Russia and theUkraine announced on Wednesday December 4 that their respective foreign ministers will be present on Thursday at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Maltamaking it one of the rare international events where senior officials from both countries will be brought together.
According to Russian diplomacy, Sergey Lavrovunder European sanctions, will be in Malta on Thursday and Friday for this meeting, his first trip to the EU since the start of the Russian assault against Ukraine in February 2022.
kyiv, which called for Russia’s suspension from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, also announced that its Foreign Minister, Andriï Sybiga, would be present in Malta on Thursday.
In a statement, Ukrainian diplomacy, which did not comment on the expected presence of Sergei Lavrov, specified that Andriï Sybiga would be in Malta on Wednesday and Thursday, where he will speak during the plenary session of the meeting and meet representatives “ from partner countries “. “ The key themes of [son] speeches and discussions will be Russian aggression against Ukraine, its security implications in the OSCE area and beyond, the need to achieve comprehensive peace “, she emphasized.
Earlier, the spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, in her daily briefing, announced that Sergei Lavrov and a Russian delegation will participate in this meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Malta.
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Possible peace process
The overwhelming majority of the 57 OSCE member states have denounced the Russian assault on Ukraine and are funding its resistance to the Russian army. This international organization succeeded in 1995 the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe which had been created during the Cold War as a platform for East-West dialogue.
Mr. Lavrov’s visit comes amid speculation about the launch of a possible peace process around Ukraine and a month and a half before the return to the White House of the unpredictable Donald Trump, who makes Kiev fear the cessation of vital American aid. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was the first Western leader to reconnect with Vladimir Putin, in mid-November during a telephone call, the first between the two leaders since the end of 2022.
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This initiative from Berlin angered kyiv – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believing that Olaf Scholz had opened “ Pandora’s box » –, and the incomprehension of other chancelleries, determined to continue to arm Ukraine so that it arrives in a position of strength at the negotiating table when the time comes.
In Malta, “ there will be no maintenance » with Sergei Lavrov has already decided the head of Polish diplomacy, Radoslaw Sikorski, accusing Moscow of “ clearly violates » OSCE rules. “ The question is whether Russia, as an aggressor, should continue to participate in organizations » like the OSCE, he added.
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