Slovak foreign minister breaks ranks, meets with Lavrov at OSCE
Representatives from several countries walked out of the conference room when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was speaking. However, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar did not. He not only remained in the room, but he also found it appropriate to meet with him. The Russian Foreign Ministry was the first to report on this previously planned meeting.
The invitation and the presence of the Russian Foreign Minister at the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Malta provoked much controversy. Several diplomats, including delegations from Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the Czech Republic, left the room during Lavrov's speech.
Most diplomats, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, however, stayed during the Russian diplomat's speech. Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar also stayed.
It turns out that the Slovak not only listened to Lavrov's speech but also met with him. This meeting was reportedly planned to discuss Russian oil and gas supplies to Slovakia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry first reported on this meeting. Later, a statement was also issued by the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Talks on oil, gas, and peace
"While we work on diversification, securing supplies at favourable prices and in the necessary quantities is important to us," declared Minister Blanar, as quoted on the Slovak Foreign Ministry's profile on platform X. According to him, the Russian side assured that it is able to meet its commitments in this matter.
During the meeting with Lavrov, Blanar also reportedly called for an end to military operations, emphasizing the need to seek diplomatic solutions in line with the United Nations Charter. He also noted that "Slovakia supports international peace initiatives, including those proposed by China and Brazil."
At the same time Blanar was meeting with Lavrov, the head of the Slovak Ministry of Economy, Denisa Saková, was holding parallel talks on gas supplies from Russia, meeting with Gazprom representatives in St. Petersburg. Saková's visit, which took place on Wednesday afternoon, was not publicly announced in advance by the Slovak Ministry of Economy.
At the NATO foreign ministers' meeting, which preceded the OSCE meeting in Malta, Blanar advocated for dialogue with Russia, a stance previously proposed by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. The head of the cabinet declared that he would attend Moscow celebrations marking the end of World War II. In January, a delegation from the Slovak parliament will visit Moscow.
Alongside Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, the Slovak foreign minister is the most frequent EU representative to meet with Lavrov.
