Russia's Foreign Minister Banned From World's Largest Security Conference, Kremlin Calls Move 'Provocative'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will not be able to participate in the conference of the world’s largest regional security organisation, OSCE, in Poland this year. The ban

Russia on Saturday said that Poland barring its foreign minister Sergei Lavrov from regional security talks is 'provocative'. The Kremlin's statement came a day after Poland's foreign ministry announced that it will not allow a Russian delegation to attend a regional security organisation in the world next month.

Poland government spokesperson Lukasz Jasina said that Sergei Lavrov is on the list of sanctioned individuals and hence will not be allowed to attend the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conference, of which Russia is a member.

Poland is the rotational chairman of the 57-nation OSCE this year. The two-day annual ministerial conference will be held in the Polish city of Lodz on December 1 and 2.

Russia was banned from the OSCE following its invasion of Ukraine in February this year.

WHAT IS OSCE?

The OSCE is the world’s largest regional security organisation. It provides a platform for political dialogues on a wide range of security issues, including arms control, terrorism, good governance, energy security, human trafficking, democratization, media freedom and national minorities. It also works on environmental awareness, tackling corruption, sharing natural resources, and sound management of environmental waste.

Among its core beliefs are the protection and promotion of human rights, which, other member states feel, Russia has violated.