When Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Malta, he charged that the West had prompted a new “Cold War.” The speech came at the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) summit, marking Lavrov’s first visit to an EU (European Union) member country since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
Concerned about the escalation of tensions, Lavrov told the state-run news agency RIA Novosti that the current state of affairs could turn from a “Cold War” to a direct conflict. One of the key issues is the support given to Kyiv by the West.
Lavrov’s last visit to an EU country was in December 2021, when he was in Sweden’s Stockholm for an OSCE meeting. Since then, the foreign minister has faced European sanctions over his role in the government during the war in Ukraine.
Lavrov’s presence at the summit drew criticism, especially from Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called Lavrov a “war criminal” and described Russia as “the biggest threat” to security in Europe. Minister Sybiha stressed that Russia is seen not as a partner but as a threat to common security.
With 57 members, the OSCE was founded in 1975 to reduce Cold War tensions and deals with topics like arms control and human rights. Lavrov has accused the group of departing from its original ideals and criticized it for becoming an “appendix” of the EU and NATO.
Malta, which justified the decision as a means to “keep certain channels of communication open” in spite of EU sanctions, helped Lavrov participate. Lavrov took advantage of the opportunity to criticize an “institutional crisis” in the OSCE and charge Western nations with influencing the organization to suit their own ends.
High expectations surround the meeting, with many focusing on how Donald Trump’s return to the White House will affect the dynamics of the Eastern European conflict. The Ukrainian front has already been impacted by the US power shift, as Ukrainian troops have been told to remain in their positions until the new US president takes his position.
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