Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to North Macedonia on Thursday, his first visit to a NATO member state since the start of the war in Ukraine. The head of Moscow's diplomacy will participate in an OSCE conference at the invitation of Skopje, which serves as the head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Russia is one of 57 members of the Organization created during the Cold War to help ease tensions between East and West.
But after the launch of aggression against the neighboring state on February 24, 2022, NATO members stopped flights from Russia. To reach North Macedonia, Lavrov's plane must fly over the airspace of Bulgaria or Greece. The green light came from Sofia on Monday, something the Russian foreign minister had previously warned about.
"Apparently, Bulgaria has promised Macedonia that it will open the airspace. Let's see", said Lavrov.
As it is said, the decision was taken after the request of North Macedonia, for participation in the Council of Ministers of the OSCE in Skopje of the Russian Foreign Minister, and falls under the exception of the regime of EU sanctions against him. The permit is temporary and does not apply to members of Lavrov's delegation, who are also sanctioned persons under EU law.
Over 70 delegations from OSCE member and partner countries are expected to arrive in Skopje for this week's meeting.
According to Lavrov, some representatives of Western countries have already requested meetings with him during the summit. But the Russian news agency Tass ruled out the possibility of a meeting between Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
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