US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit North Macedonia to attend an OSCE ministerial meeting boycotted by the foreign ministers of Ukraine and the Baltic states over Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's participation.

The US Department of State said in a statement that Blinken would meet with OSCE colleagues during his visit to Skopje.

The official "will engage with OSCE counterparts, reaffirming the United States’ steadfast commitment to the OSCE and its core mission of promoting security, stability, and cooperation among states".

"Secretary Blinken will also highlight the pivotal role played by the OSCE in advancing comprehensive security across the region and thank North Macedonia for its leadership role."

On Tuesday, 28 November, reports emerged that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba would boycott the OSCE ministerial meeting due to the participation of Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia also joined the boycott.