Moldova slams Russia's aggression in Ukraine
Moldova condemns Russia's military aggression in Ukraine and calls on Moscow to withdraw its troops from the Transnistrian region.
The position of the authorities in Chișinău will be reiterated at the Ministerial Conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which begins today in the capital of North Macedonia.
The OSCE meeting in Skopje will open its work with a panel dedicated to Ukraine, with the title "The war of aggression against Ukraine and the need for a functional OSCE in times of conflict," in which partner states will condemn the military aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, according to the Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu.
"At the ministerial conference, the delegation of the Republic of Moldova will reiterate its condemnation of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, will again make a strong appeal for the withdrawal of the illegal troops of the Russian Federation from the territory of our country, but will also discuss the importance of a peaceful resolution of the Transnistrian conflict," wrote Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu.
Minister Nicu Popescu also announced that on the sidelines of the event he will have several meetings with counterparts from EU member states to ensure full support in the next stages of the Republic of Moldova's accession process to the EU, before the vote of the European Council in December.
From 29 November to 30 November, the 30th annual meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is taking place in Skopje, North Macedonia.
Ukraine and the Baltic States will boycott the OSCE meeting due to the presence of Lavrov
Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania announced on Tuesday that their foreign ministers will boycott an OSCE meeting that will take place in North Macedonia this week, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov intends to attend, according to Reuters.
It would be the first time that Lavrov is attending an OSCE meeting since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, which led to radical Western sanctions.
"The Ukrainian delegation will not participate in the OSCE ministerial meeting at the level of foreign ministers," Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, wrote in a statement on Facebook.
Nikolenko said that Russia had abused the rules of consensus within the organisation, resorted to "blackmail and open threats," and also held three Ukrainian OSCE representatives in prison for 500 days.
"In such conditions, the presence of a Russian delegation ... at the ministerial level for the first time since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine will only deepen the crisis into which Russia has pushed the OSCE," he said.
In a gesture of solidarity with Kyiv, the foreign ministers of the three Baltic states later issued a statement saying that they would not participate in the meeting either if Lavrov was present.
His participation "risks legitimising the aggressor Russia as a full member of our community of free nations, trivialising the atrocious crimes that Russia is committing," they said.
Russia has shown "obstructive behaviour" within the OSCE by blocking activities in Ukraine and preventing Estonia's candidacy for the presidency of the organisation in 2024, according to the joint statement by Margus Tsahkna of Estonia, Krisjanis Karins of Latvia, and Gabrielius Landsbergis of Lithuania.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will participate in the meeting as planned, a senior State Department official told reporters, adding that this would show solidarity with the hosts and with the OSCE, which the official called "a truly important institution for addressing political and human rights issues throughout Europe."
Translation by Iurie Tataru
