DISINFO: The early departure of Borrell and Blinken from the OSCE Ministerial Council shows cowardice
SUMMARY
The early departure of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell from the Macedonian capital shows their cowardice and fear of dialogue.
Blinken left, and Borrell also left, probably thinking that they emphasise their intention to isolate Russia. But they are just cowards, afraid of any honest conversations on facts.
RESPONSE
Disinformation, targeting high-ranking officials from Western countries and their policy towards the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Josep Borrell explained the impossibility of meeting with Lavrov during a press conference in Brussels. "I will go to the meeting of the OSCE. We have to go. We [with EU Member States] are members of this organisation, and we have to present our views and counter the views of Russia. So, I will go. I will not have the opportunity to discuss this with Minister Lavrov, because I will have to come back immediately after to attend a meeting of the European Defence Agency (EDA)."
During the press briefing with the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Josep Borrell said: "I understand the unease of some participating states about your decision to allow Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov to participate. I understand because, with its illegal war against Ukraine, Russia is violating the UN Charter, is violating the same principles of the OSCE, and violating international law at large. And for that, it is facing international sanctions and international isolation. Yet, your decision to allow Lavrov to participate is in line with our common objective to keep multilateralism alive. And Lavrov needs to hear again from everyone why Russia is being condemned and isolated. It will be a good occasion for him to listen directly from the participants of this meeting why Russia is being condemned and isolated."
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a brief stop in North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje, for the meeting but left for Israel hours later. Blinken accused Russia of “flagrant violations of every single core principle” of Cold War efforts to ease East-West tensions that led to the creation of the OSCE, and “relentless efforts to obstruct the OSCE’s work.”
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced that Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba would not be attending the OSCE meeting due to the organisers’ decision to invite Sergei Lavrov.
Western countries are open for dialogue on how to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, based on the principles of the UN Charter. Some NATO member states provide Ukraine with weapons with the aim of helping it repel Russia's unprovoked aggression and to restore its territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.
The US, the EU and NATO condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is entirely unjustified and unprovoked.
See also further disinfo cases on EU High Representative Josep Borrell.