VIENNA, December 20. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s participation in a foreign ministers’ meeting under the aegis of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Skopje, North Macedonia, made it clear that it is impossible to isolate Moscow, Konstantin Gavrilov, head of Russia’s delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, said in an interview with TASS.
"The Skopje meeting first and foremost showed that it’s impossible to isolate our country and throw it out of the all-European conversation on security issues. The West’s cries that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cannot take part in the event subsided as soon as the question of the organization’s future work arose," the diplomat pointed out.
According to him, the Russian delegation clarified its position "in a calm but firm manner." "Some European media outlets did not even cover the OSCE ministerial meeting to prevent their audience from asking how representatives of an ‘aggressor country’ could be taking part in a European dialogue. This once again shows that, despite all the rhetoric and propaganda, the Western community is interested in our country’s participation in discussions on the future of European security," Gavrilov added.
Lavrov took part in the OSCE foreign ministers’ meeting in the North Macedonian capital of Skopje between November 30 and December 1. He held a number of bilateral meetings and a trilateral meeting with the current and incoming chairs of the organization. In addition, the top Russian diplomat also held a press conference that was attended by over 100 reporters from all over the world.