CSTO Expresses Disagreement with Poland on Lavrov's Exclusion from OSCE Meeting

The foreign ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) countries have adopted a joint statement expressing disagreement with Poland's decision to deny Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's delegation access to the meeting of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers.

This was announced by CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas, as reported by TASS.

“This statement reflects our foreign ministers' collective disagreement with the decision of the current OSCE president, Poland, which made it impossible for the delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation to participate in the 29th meeting of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers,” Zas said.

He noted that “despite years of established practice,” the Collective Security Treaty Organization was also not invited to the forum, which harms the functioning of the OSCE.

“The damage is primarily done not to our states, nor to the Russian Federation and other countries, but to the OSCE organization itself,” Zas emphasized.