Russia's Lavrov Sparks Rift at European Security Meeting

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, front center right, and North Macedonia Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, front center left, are pictured with other officials at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia, Nov. 29, 2023. FILE — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during their meeting in Beijing, China, Oct. 16, 2023. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second left, talks to North Macedonia's Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, right, during a bilateral meeting of their delegations at the foreign ministry building in Skopje, North Macedonia, Nov. 29, 2023.

Member countries are divided over the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's annual foreign ministers' meeting on Thursday, with Baltic nations and Ukraine refusing to attend over the presence of Russia's Sergey Lavrov.