The OSCE is not the only international body where the West and Russia meet. Lavrov still attends Group of 20 events around the world and the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry says it has given permission to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's plane to cross its airspace en route to North Macedonia's capital, Skopje, where he is to attend a November 29-December 1 meeting of the Council of Ministers of the OSCE.

Top diplomats from more than 50 countries are arriving in North Macedonia while others are boycotting the expected presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's annual foreign ministers' meeting on Thursday has split member states, with Baltic nations and Ukraine refusing to attend over the presence of Russia's Sergei Lavrov and urging others to as well.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that he plans to travel to North Macedonia later this week to attend a conference, a trip that would mark his first visit to a NATO member country since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine.