Russia's Lavrov says he could attend OSCE meeting

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that he would take part in an OSCE meeting in North Macedonia if Bulgaria opened its air space, and that some Western countries had asked for meetings with him. "Apparently Bulgaria has promised Macedonia it will open its air space - if that happens then we will be there.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that he would take part in an OSCE meeting in North Macedonia if Bulgaria opened its air space, and that some Western countries had asked for meetings with him.

"Apparently Bulgaria has promised Macedonia it will open its air space - if that happens then we will be there. Let's see," Lavrov told the Primakov Readings conference in Moscow. "There are already several requests for meetings - including from Western representatives," Lavrov said after talking about a meeting he had with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the G20 last year.

Lavrov added: "If someone approaches us, we never run away or hide." Foreign ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are due to meet in Skopje from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1.

The 57-member grouping, which extends around much of the northern hemisphere, is intended to prevent conflict and security crises. Bulgarian air space is closed to Russian aircraft as part of European Union sanctions imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which Moscow calls a "special military operation". 

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