North Macedonia welcomes the delegations of the 57 member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as well as partner countries, for the holding of the 30th Council of Ministers from November 30 to December 1 in Skopje.
76 delegations and about 1000 delegates, including Bulgaria, will participate in one of the biggest political events held in the Macedonian capital.
The forum, which will be opened with an official dinner today, is of great importance because important issues are to be resolved. A final decision is awaited for the next rotating chairman of the organization. This is likely to be Malta after Russia opposed Estonia's bid and a compromise solution was reached in Vienna (the seat of the OSCE). Member States must also appoint new appointments to key positions whose mandates expire on 3 December. There is also a vote on a new budget, which has been unsuccessfully attempted since 2021.
The highlight of the three-day forum, however, will be the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, which has not happened often since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine. North Macedonia's invitation to Lavrov and the admission of his plane through Bulgarian airspace indicate that he is still likely to hold talks with the senior US official.
After Lavrov's trip to Skopje was confirmed, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania decided to boycott the forum.
The ministerial meeting starts tomorrow, November 30. On the first day, two side events are planned: Signing of a joint statement on the fight against corruption in South-Eastern Europe and consideration of the impact of climate change on the security of people in the OSCE region - over 1 billion people.
On the second day, conferences related to youth issues, the safety of women journalists and the impact of the organization's field operations will be held. /BGNES
