Czech foreign minister walks out of Russian politician's speech at OSCE meeting

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, along with several other people, left the room when his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov took the floor on Thursday at the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council, which is taking place in Skopje, North Macedonia on Thursday and Friday.

The OSCE summit has been the focus of several disputes regarding Lavrov, with Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states boycotting the meeting on account of his presence, and Bulgaria not allowing the plane carrying him to fly over its territory.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was founded in 1975 at the height of the Cold War to promote dialogue between East and West. It is currently the only European security platform that brings together European countries, including Russia and Ukraine, with the United States and Canada.