Russia’s Lavrov and the US’s Blinken are scheduled to participate in the upcoming OSCE meeting

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken are expected to confront each other regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine during an annual meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Malta on Thursday. The situation in Ukraine is anticipated to be the primary focus of discussions, which will also include the formal approval of last-minute agreements concerning senior positions within the security and rights organization. Western nations have frequently accused Russia of violating human rights and international standards.

This marks Lavrov’s first visit to a European Union member state since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Although Lavrov and Blinken, whose tenure concludes next month, are not scheduled for a direct meeting, they have occasionally found themselves at the same international events since the war began, with limited interactions. Their most recent encounter occurred in March 2023 during a G20 meeting in New Delhi, which the Russian foreign ministry reported lasted under ten minutes.

Following that brief meeting, Blinken stated at a press conference that he urged Lavrov to pursue diplomatic avenues. In contrast, Lavrov described the interaction as constructive but noted that he did not receive any new insights regarding U.S. positions. The OSCE gathering will include foreign ministers and officials from 57 participating states across North America, Europe, and Central Asia, and is further complicated by the impending return of Donald Trump to the White House. Trump’s advisers are reportedly discussing strategies to resolve the conflict in Ukraine that would involve significant territorial concessions to Russia.

As Trump prepares to assume office again in just over a month, Western nations are expected to reaffirm their support for Ukraine, while Russia is likely to continue its criticism of the OSCE, which Lavrov claimed last year was becoming “essentially an extension of NATO and the European Union.”

VETO POWERS

The OSCE emerged as a successor to an organization established during the Cold War to facilitate dialogue between Eastern and Western nations. In recent years, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has effectively utilized its veto power to obstruct various decisions.

This year, Armenia and Azerbaijan have reportedly hindered the OSCE budget due to ongoing disputes related to their conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Diplomats indicate that an agreement was reached this week to appoint individuals to four senior OSCE roles, including the position of secretary general, which will be filled by Turkey’s Feridun Sinirlioglu, who previously served as foreign minister in a caretaker government in 2015.

The most significant annual decision within the OSCE—determining which country will assume the rotating chairmanship—has already been resolved. Finland is set to take on this role in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, which established the groundwork for the current OSCE framework.