Lavrov to Attend OSCE Meeting in Malta

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is set to visit Malta in December to attend a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), marking his first trip to an EU country since the onset of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. This meeting will take place on December 5-6, and the Maltese Embassy confirmed that all OSCE members, including Russia, are invited. Lavrov's previous visit to an EU country was in December 2021, and he was denied entry to Poland for an OSCE meeting in December 2022 due to EU sanctions. Despite these sanctions, Russia has maintained its membership in the OSCE, viewing it as a platform to express its positions regarding the conflict. In a recent interview, Lavrov also criticized Turkey for supplying weapons to Ukraine, which he claims are responsible for Russian casualties.