Europe Lavrov wants to enter the EU despite sanctions
According to a media report, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov wants to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Malta in December. This was reported by the daily newspaper "Vedomosti", citing Foreign Office spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
01.11.2024, 11:21
01.11.2024, 11:22
SDA
It would be the first time since the start of the war that the Russian top diplomat has traveled to an EU country. The European Union imposed sanctions against Lavrov, as it did against Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in February 2022, for the war of aggression against Ukraine.
Lavrov last visited an EU country in December 2021, also for an OSCE foreign ministers' meeting. When the OSCE met in Lodz, Poland, in December 2022, Warsaw denied Lavrov entry, although the EU sanctions do not mean a ban on entry.
Unlike several other European institutions such as the Council of Europe, Russia has not withdrawn from the OSCE. Moscow sees the organization as a platform to disseminate its own positions on the war.
Moscow skeptical about prospects of Turkish mediation
In a newspaper interview, Lavrov criticized Turkey for supplying weapons to Ukraine. These weapons were killing Russian soldiers and civilians, he said.
Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression for more than two and a half years and has also shelled Russian territory in the process. However, the damage caused in Russia and the number of victims are disproportionate to the destruction caused by Moscow.
