OSCE summit in Malta: Finland bypasses controversy with Russia!

OSCE summit in Malta: Finland bypasses controversy with Russia!

Wien, Österreich - Vienna could soon be the host of the annual OSCE Minister Council after Finland, who will take the chair next year, rejected this unexpectedly. According to reports from vienna.at , the Finnish Secretary of State Elina Valonen made the decision due to the difficult budget situation of the OSCE and the associated logistical considerations. This potentiates the possibility that the organization will have its annual meeting in 2025 in the secret diplomat city of Vienna, without the rising rises that would occur at the Malta meeting. Austria has declared that it is ready to organize the conference when all 57 countries agree.

The upcoming OSCE summit, which will take place in Malta on December 5th and 6th, will be overshadowed by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. As rf/rl , this could be his first visit to an EU country in Ukraine in February 2022, even though it is still occupied by EU sanctions. Despite these restrictions, he could participate in the talks due to the permission of being internationally on board, while his participation in a dinner that is specifically concerned with the topic of "Russian aggression against Ukraine" is denied.

debates about the OSCE leadership and sanctions

In the Malta, important positions within the OSCE have also been filled since the organization has been without leadership since September. Malta has proposed local politicians for leadership roles, but Moscow is against some candidacies, especially against the former Georgian ministers who are associated with the return of Russian -occupied areas. There are also progress in the diplomatic relationships between western countries and Russia, such as a phone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Russian President Vladimir Putin, which took place after over two years. Nevertheless, there are many locks and protests that could accompany Lavrov's presence, because beforehand Ukrainian and Baltic representatives demonstratively left the conversations when he was talking.