MOSCOW, November 30. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said on the sidelines of a meeting held by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that the group needs to reinstate equitable dialogue between its members in order to come out of the crisis, the ministry said in a statement.

He made the remarks as he met with North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, who is also the organization’s chairman-in-office, and Malta’s Foreign Minister Ian Borg, the next chairman-in-office.

"Discussion has been given to the state of affairs in the OSCE. It was stressed by the Russian side that in order for the organization to emerge from the current deep crisis and return to normal activities, it is necessary to resume mutually respectful and equitable dialogue among the participating states, to observe the fundamental rule of consensus and to closely follow the rules of procedure," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The OSCE is holding a ministerial meeting in Skopje from November 30 to December 1. Member countries must agree on appointments to a number of the organization's key posts, including secretary general. The position is currently held by Helga Schmid, whose mandate expires on Sunday. The North Macedonian chairmanship also said that consensus had been reached on Monday to pass OSCE chairmanship to Malta in 2024, but it is yet to be formalized.