Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has traveled to Malta for a European security summit, marking his first visit to an EU state since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
His Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga, who is attending the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting, walked out of the hall ahead of Lavrov’s remarks, the country’s foreign ministry said.
Lavrov’s attendance was controversial, with Poland’s foreign minister refusing to meet him and Cybiga branding the diplomat a “war criminal”.
Russia’s foreign minister accused the West of fueling a new Cold War “with a high risk of a transition to a hot one”.
Cybiga said Russia’s involvement in the OSCE was contrary to the organization’s goals, describing it as a “big threat to our common security.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also attended. He accused Russia of escalating the war in Ukraine and spreading a “tsunami of misinformation”.
“We must not deceive ourselves and allow (Lavrov) or anyone else to deceive us,” he said.
“This is not and never has been about Russian security. This is about Mr. Putin’s imperialist plan to wipe Ukraine off the map.”
Blinken and Lavrov, who have had limited communication since the war in Ukraine began, were not scheduled to meet at the summit.
Kyiv boycotted last year’s OSCE meeting in non-EU member North Macedonia because of Lavrov’s attendance and previously called for Russia’s expulsion from the group.
A number of diplomats and officials were seen leaving the hall ahead of Lavrov’s remarks.
Moscow has been increasingly critical of the OSCE, which aimed to ease East-West tensions during the Cold War and prevent conflict and manage crises in Europe.
The 57-state forum meets to discuss security issues on the continent and undertake practical security work, including sending observers to conflicts and elections globally.
Last year, Lavrov claimed the OSCE had been “turned into an appendage of NATO and the European Union,” but Russia has hampered the group’s ability to function by vetoing several key decisions in recent years.
Moscow earlier this year voted to suspend its participation in its parliamentary assembly, calling it anti-Russian and discriminatory.
Ahead of this week’s summit, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Lavrov would use the occasion to criticize the OSCE’s “institutional crisis.”
He said the OSCE had been “Ukrainized” and accused Western states of “using this forum for their own interests.”
Zakharova wrote in a telegram that Malta canceled her visa to accompany Lavrov for the meeting.
Malta’s foreign affairs office said three OSCE member states had objected to the visa extension for Zakharova, who faces a travel ban.
Although Lavrov is subject to EU sanctions, he is not under a travel ban.
