site.btaSkopje to Host 30th OSCE Ministerial Council in Late November

Skopje will host the 30th Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) from November 29 to December 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani told a news conference here on Monday. He described the summit as the biggest event in North Macedonia's history.

Expected to arrive in Skopje are 76 delegations of OSCE countries and partners, represented mainly by foreign ministers. A charter flight from Brussels is provided for the ministers who a day earlier will be taking part in a NATO ministerial, from where 20 official representatives will come to North Macedonia.

In Osmani's words, for the first time OSCE is facing an existential crisis, and it is exactly in Skopje that the organization's future has to be decided.

For the first time in its history, OSCE lacks a Chairperson-in-Office for 2024, a budget has not been approved since 2021 despite the serious commitments and the presence of 13 field missions in conflict locations around the globe, and the war in Ukraine is a challenge that has reduced the level of trust between the OSCE participating states. That means that the decisions requiring consensus in the organization cannot be adopted, Osmani noted.

"Twenty days before the summit, we still lack consensus on the matters of importance for OSCE's future. That will have to happen in Skopje. Theoretically, it is possible for OSCE to stop existing, but I do not believe that the countries will allow that. I do not believe that OSCE will be allowed to die away with its entire capacity and capabilities," Osmani argued.

He said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed desire to take part in the OSCE Ministerial Council in Skopje. "There are certain challenges in that respect, given that the Macedonian air space as well as that of the neighbouring countries is closed to State-owned Russian aircraft and certain logistics efforts will have to be made. As a rule, all participating states should attend the meeting, but for certain individuals there should be an additional decision. I hope we will all be able to meet in Skopje," the Foreign Affairs Minister said.

Asked how a decision on OSCE's future will be taken if Lavrov cannot attend the Ministerial Council, Osmani said that the Russian Federation will have representatives at the summit.

Asked about OSCE's chairmanship in 2024, Osmani said that work is being done on several scenarios, because the only country who is a formal candidate - Estonia - is not supported by Russia. In the last months, North Macedonia's Foreign Minister in his capacity of OSCE Chairman-in-Office has talked with all his counterparts from OSCE in search of an alternative that would be backed by all participating states. If that does not happen, North Macedonia will not allow OSCE to remain without a chairperson-in-office, Osmani underscored.