SECURITY COUNCIL

The 29th Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe’s Ministerial Council met this week in Lodz, Poland, to review the security situation in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian areas.

The meeting was attended by 57 OSCE states at the invitation of Polish foreign minister Zbigniew Rau. Warsaw did not allow Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to take part in the meeting, as it believes that it is necessary to “absolutely isolate” Russia in the international arena amid its military operation in Ukraine, according to senior Polish diplomat Pawel Jablonski. The Russian foreign ministry called Poland’s decision “unprecedented and provocative”.

Meanwhile, the European Council president Charles Michel has urged China’s president Xi Jinping to use his influence to press Russia to respect the UN charter with regard to Ukraine.