Yesterday, the OSCE Chairman and Malta’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg opened the OSCE 31st Ministerial Meeting in Malta with a clear call for Russia to withdraw for Ukraine. However, by the end of the day, after foreign ministers and diplomats had exchanged views and discussions, there was a clear sense that Western European states aren’t ready to replace the United States as the main weapons supplier to Ukraine if the US halts its provisions. On the other hand, the United Kingdom seems to be the strongest European supporter of Ukraine in this regard, with UK Foreign Minister David Lammy insisting with his counterparts that the Europe should step up if the United States backs down its support of Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gave a typical anti-Western trade blaming the United States and Ukraine for attacking Russia. Several Eastern European member-states leaving the room once he started speaking. The Russian Foreign Minister held bilateral meetings with his Hungarian, Slovak and Central Asian counterparts.
There may be a consensus on the post of Secretary-General of the OSCE with Turkey as a compromise candidate but this decision has yet to be confirmed at the conference later today. The OSCE is currently torn with disputes over its future administration with Russia’s presence in the organisation being the main issue in the disputes.
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