Lavrov at a press conference in Skopje: "The main feeling is indifference"

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke at a press conference in Skopje about “freedom of the press” in Russia and said that he is not interested in the fight to preserve the OSCE.

He noted that the functioning of the OSCE now makes no sense, quotes “European truth”:

“The main feeling is indifference. For example, I don’t care what will happen to this organization.”

To a clarifying question from a Deutsche Welle journalist about whether these words meant the possibility of Russia leaving the OSCE, Lavrov answered briefly, accusing her of distorting his words:

“I don’t know where you received your journalistic training. I know that in Germany it’s customary for journalists to tell everything to journalists, but here we leave room for interpretation.”

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the high probability of the collapse of the OSCE. Commenting on his recent words that now the chances of preserving the OSCE are very low, he said that after the meeting in Skopje, the chances of the organization’s collapse have further worsened: “The chances have increased, but not of preserving the organization.”

The department’s press secretary, Maria Zakharova, commenting on the issue of Deutsche Welle, stated that “in Russia, unlike Germany, there is freedom of speech.” She considered Lavrov’s “answer” to the journalist’s question as proof.

The OSCE ministerial meeting is held in order to take previously worked out decisions of political weight: approval of the new leading state, the position of the organization’s secretary general, the head of the Office for Democracy and Human Rights (ODIHR), etc. It is for making these decisions that notes “European Pravda”, Lavrov was invited to Skopje, having lifted several sanctions restrictions at his request. Meanwhile, it turns out, according to him, that Russia is not ready to vote for these personnel decisions. The Foreign Minister stated:

“I don’t care how these “get-togethers” end, where they are now trying to bargain with us for a few days or weeks… And I don’t care about the fate of these people.”

Yesterday our publication reported that Lavrov was flying to the OSCE meeting in Skopje via Greece.

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