Skopje, 28 November 2023 (MIA) – Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, will not attend the OSCE Ministerial Council in Skopje. At the Council, Ukraine will be represented by a delegation from the country’s Foreign Ministry, the Ukrainian Embassy in Skopje told MIA.

The Embassy pointed to a statement by the Spokesperson of the Ukrainian MFA, Oleg Nikolenko, who notes that Ukraine appreciates the efforts of North Macedonia as the holder of the OSCE Chairpersonship in 2023, as well as of Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani personally, who, according to the statement, “demonstrated high professionalism and unwavering commitment to protecting the principles and commitments of the OSCE”. The press release also expresses gratitude to North Macedonia “for the prioritization of the issue of countering Russian aggression against Ukraine in the course of its Chairpersonship”.

“Today, the Russian Federation is coercing and undermining the OSCE through the abuse of the rule of consensus. By resorting to blackmailing and open threats, the Russian Federation systematically blocked the consensus on key issues. The blocking of Estonia’s candidacy for the Chairpersonship of the OSCE in 2024 has become yet another example of Russia’s abuse. Furthermore, Russia illegally detained three Ukrainian OSCE officials that have been in detention for more than 500 days. Russia has created an existential crisis within the OSCE and turned the Organization into a hostage of its whims and aggression,” says the statement.

According to the Ukrainian MFA, under such conditions, “the presence of the Russian delegation at the meeting 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 driven the OSCE”.

“We should focus our common efforts on how to save the OSCE from Russia, and not send messages about the possibility of returning to the forms of cooperation that existed before February 2022 to the state that has unleashed the largest armed aggression in Europe since the end of the Second World War and grossly violated all the principles of the Helsinki Final Act. In view of this, the delegation of Ukraine will not participate in the OSCE Ministerial meeting at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, Ukraine remains committed to the principles of the OSCE and is ready to continue working with partners to restore respect for the Helsinki Final Act, in particular through the implementation of the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy,” says the statement published by the Spokesperson of the Ukrainian MFA.