Russia's Lavrov on Malta: A war of words

He arrived late for the plenary session, strolling towards the convention center in Ta' Qali in Malta, where the annual ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was taking place. At that point, Sergey Lavrov's first visit to an EU country since the beginning of Russia's war on Ukraine in February 2022 was already cause for controversy.

"Mr. Lavrov is coming here to lie about [the] Russian invasion and what Russia is doing in Ukraine," Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski told reporters just minutes before the arrival of the Russian foreign minister. This sentiment was shared by some other ministers.

"I will not be in one room with Mr. Lavrov. I will walk out," Baiba Braze, the Latvian foreign minister, told DW. "I cannot be in the same room as an aggressor state."

Lavrov is not under a travel ban

The EU designated Lavrov a sanctioned individual in February 2022 "due to his active support to actions undermining the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine," according to the EU Commission. As a consequence, he is subject to asset freezes, but still allowed to travel across the bloc to "keep avenues for dialogue open."

In the assembly room in Malta, Lavrov took a seat at a big table, only ten chairs away from Ukraine's top diplomat, Andrii Sybiha. While Sybiha seemed serious and focused, Lavrov appeared to be trying to look relaxed, sucking a candy and waving at somebody.

Lavrov ― 'the war criminal at this table'

"When Russians say they want peace they lie," Sybiha said in his opening speech.

He went on by addressing Lavrov directly: "Ukraine continues to fight for its right to exist. And the Russian war criminal at this table must know: Ukraine will win this fight and justice will prevail."

Many at the gathering supported that view. When it was Lavrov's turn to address the meeting, diplomats from Poland, Latvia and the Czech Republic walked out in protest. Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, and Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, stayed in the room, but made it clear they did so for a specific reason.

Baerbock told DW that "lies and fakes news to destabilize societies in Europe are part of Russia's war." She indicated she was expecting Lavrov to spread lies in Malta and said she was attending the meeting "to oppose this war propaganda and to stand up to fake news."

The Russian top diplomat did indeed use his speech to blast the West and spread well-known Kremlin propaganda. He accused the EU of coercion by imposing sanctions against Russia for what he called pursuing "legitimate national interests."

Lavrov claimed the US were to blame for the escalation of the conflict, because they needed "a new enemy” to return NATO to "the political spotlight." He went on to say that the West was behind a "reincarnation of the Cold War, only now with a much greater risk of a transition to a hot one."

And as he had done before, Russia's long-serving foreign minister decried the OSCE as an organization serving solely the interests of the Unites States. He made clear Russia does not see any advantage in engaging in the forum at all.

OSCE, a forum for dialogue

The OSCE was founded in 1975 to offer a platform for increased dialogue between East and West during the Cold War. The body now counts 57 members from Ireland to Turkey to Mongolia, plus the United States and Canada. It helps its members coordinate issues such as human rights and arms control, and sends observers to conflicts as well as elections around the world.

But the organization has been paralyzed since the start of Russia's war on Ukraine, as the Kremlin has been continuing to veto several major decisions. While Lavrov has repeatedly chosen to participate in OSCE summits like the one in Malta, he usually leaves the plenary session almost immediately after his own speech.

Blinken rebukes Lavrov's 'misinformation'

That is exactly what happened in Malta.

"I regret that our colleague, Mr. Lavrov, has left the room, not giving me the courtesy to listen to us as we listen to him," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the gathering a few minutes later. "Our Russian colleague is very adept in drowning listeners with a tsunami of misinformation."

Blinken pushed back strongly against Lavrov's claims. 

"Let's not fool ourselves and let's not allow him or anyone else to fool us," he said. "This is not about and has never been about Russia's security. This is about Mr. Putin's imperial project to erase Ukraine from the map."

The outgoing US Secretary of State cited North Korean troops' involvementin Russia as another evidence of Russia escalating the conflict. 

There were no plans for a face-to-face meeting between Lavrov and Blinken in Malta. Blinken's appearance was probably his last visit to an OSCE assembly. Next January, Republican president-elect Donald Trump and his new administration will take office.

Edited by: Carla Bleiker