Baltic nations’ foreign ministers pull out of OSCE meeting over Russian foreign minister attendance

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — The foreign ministers of the three Baltic states say they will boycott a meeting by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe being held this week in North Macedonia, in objection to the participation of Russia’s foreign minister. The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint statement Tuesday saying they “deeply regret the decision enabling the personal participation” of Russia’s Sergey Lavrov. They say it will only provide Russia with yet another propaganda opportunity. Lavrov said Monday he planned to travel to Skopje for the OSCE foreign ministers’ meeting, a trip which would essentially mark his first visit to a NATO member country since Russia invaded Ukraine.