Polish authorities on Tuesday denied press accreditation to a correspondent of the Russian news agency Sputnik to attend the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council meeting in the midst of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Shortly after the accreditation process was opened for the meeting scheduled for December 1-2, the journalist’s application was denied and he was informed that it had been approved, according to Russian agencies.
However, he subsequently received a letter informing him that the accreditation had been rejected «during a verification process». The journalist also submitted a document requesting «explanations» for what had happened, but received no response.
Poland, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the OSCE, confirmed on November 21 that it had vetoed the participation of the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, in the meeting, which brings together more than fifty countries from Europe, Asia and North America.
The Russian government, for its part, has called the decision «provocative» and has stated that it is unprecedented. Last week, a group of Russian deputies could not attend the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly session in Warsaw because they did not have the relevant visas.
