Imagine Superman and Lex Luther in the same room; sparks are bound to fly, and that’s what happened in Malta yesterday. It’s a tiny island nation in southern Europe that normally stays out of the news, but yesterday it was the scene of a tense diplomatic faceoff: Russia versus Ukraine and the US. I leave you to decide who is Superman and who is Lex Luther.
Malta Hosts the OSCE Meeting
Anyway, Malta was hosting this meeting, the OSCE meeting—the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. OSCE is a multinational security grouping that includes nations from Europe, North America, and Asia. Russia is also part of this group, so Malta invited their foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. It was a big moment for Moscow because Malta is also a member of the European Union, and this was Lavrov’s first visit to an EU nation since the war in Ukraine—the first in almost three years. Last year’s OSCE meeting was in North Macedonia, which is not an EU member, and before that, it was hosted by Poland, which did not invite Lavrov. But Malta did. As expected, the meeting produced fireworks.
Walkouts and Heated Exchanges
Lavrov was seated at the round table with his rival counterparts, Antony Blinken of the US and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine. Just as Lavrov started to speak, there was a walkout. The delegations from Ukraine, Poland, and Estonia left the room. That left Blinken and Lavrov. The Russian foreign minister aimed NATO, saying the alliance needed a new enemy after the disgrace in Afghanistan; hence, they were targeting Russia. After that, it was Blinken’s turn to speak, though Lavrov did not stick around for that. He left immediately after his speech, something that the US diplomat did highlight.
Rising Tensions Between Russia and NATO
The US and its allies threw it all away, as well as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missile Treaty.
Strategic Diplomacy and Shifting Alliances
A feisty statement from Antony Blinken, but let’s be honest here: the scales have firmly tipped in Russia’s favor. Blinken is an outgoing Secretary of State. His government tried very hard to isolate Russia, but Moscow is anything but. Just look at Lavrov’s engagements in Malta. He met the foreign minister of Slovakia and also the foreign minister of Hungary. Both these countries are members of NATO and the EU, yet they’re talking to Sergey Lavrov of Russia.
Russia’s Strategic Advantage
Plus, Russia knows that Donald Trump is coming to the White House. He’s also hinted at cutting off military aid to Kyiv. That gives Moscow the upper hand. Vladimir Putin knows how to deal with Donald Trump, and how to press the right buttons.
Lavrov’s Media Strategy and Key Statements
We saw an example of that this week. Foreign Minister Lavrov gave an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson. Now, Carlson is a huge Trump fan. He spoke at Trump rallies during the campaign. His name was also doing the rounds for a cabinet post. In February this year, Carlson interviewed Putin, and now he’s spoken to Lavrov. Listen to what the Russian diplomat said about Trump: “What do you think of Donald Trump? My impression—he’s very friendly in discussions, but this does not mean that he is pro-Russian, as some people try to present him. The amount of sanctions we received under the Trump Administration was very, very, very big.” Lavrov also spoke about Russia’s recent military operations, including the ballistic missile attack.
Conclusion: A Shift in Power Dynamics
OSCE was called anti-Russian and discriminatory. But yesterday, Sergey Lavrov spoke at the same forum. Not only was he invited, but he also had meetings with other NATO members. It tells you how the pendulum has swung. Western unity is crumbling. Donald Trump will accelerate it, and Putin will be waiting to cash in.