Speaking at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial meeting in Ta’Qali on Thursday, Lavrov accused the West of reviving the Cold War and provoking a direct conflict with Russia.

He said the US actions were driven by a desire to “return NATO to the political spotlight”. “After the Afghan disgrace, there was a need for a new common enemy,” Lavrov said during his first stop in an EU nation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“The result is the reincarnation of the Cold War, but now with the far greater risk of its escalation into the hot phase.”

Lavrov walked out before US Secretary of State Blinken and other speakers could respond.

Blinken put the blame for escalation in the region on Russia, noting that the Russian foreign minister, the fourth speaker, did not stick around to listen to other speakers.

“Let’s talk about escalation,” Blinken said, citing the deployment of North Korean forces in Europe, the use of an intermediate-range ballistic missile to attack Ukraine, Russia’s move to lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, and relentless attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

“Mr Lavrov spoke about the sovereign right of every member state to make their own choices,” Blinken said.

“That’s exactly what this is about: the sovereign right of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people to make their own choices about the future, not to have those choices made in and by Moscow.”

The 57-nation body was formed amid the Cold War, but has been largely paralysed since Moscow invaded Ukraine, with Russia vetoing major decisions that require unanimous consent.

Ukraine has previously called for Russia to be excluded from the OSCE, and last year boycotted the organisation’s annual ministerial summit in North Macedonia over Lavrov’s attendance.

However this year Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha attended the event, which comes at a delicate time for Kyiv. US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to press for a quick deal to end the war, leaving Kyiv scrambling to obtain security guarantees from Western allies and supplies of key weaponry before the January inauguration.

Sybiha told the OSCE ministers that Russia’s participation in the organisation was “a threat to cooperation in Europe” and “the biggest threat to our common security”.

“Ukraine continues to fight for its right to exist. And the Russian war criminal at this table must know: Ukraine will win this right and justice will prevail,” he said.

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Malta had annulled her visa to accompany Lavrov.

The Maltese Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and Trade said that three OSCE member countries had objected to extending the visa to Zakharova, who is under a travel ban. Lavrov is subject to EU sanctions, but faces no travel ban.

His Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga, who is also attending the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting, walked out of the hall ahead of Lavrov’s remarks, according to the country’s foreign ministry.

Lavrov’s attendance has proved controversial, with Poland’s foreign minister refusing to meet him and Sybiga branding the diplomat a “war criminal”.

The Russian foreign minister accused the West of fuelling a new Cold War “with a much greater risk of a transition to a hot one”.

Sybiga said Russia’s involvement in the OSCE was contrary to the organisation’s aims, describing it as the “biggest threat to our common security”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also attended. He accused Russia of escalating the war in Ukraine and spreading a “tsunami of misinformation”.

“Let’s not fool ourselves and let’s not allow [Lavrov] or anyone else to fool us,” he said.

“This is not about and has never been about Russia’s security. This is about Mr Putin’s imperial project to erase Ukraine from the map.”

Blinken and Lavrov, who have had limited interaction since the war in Ukraine began, are not scheduled to meet at the summit.

Kyiv boycotted last year’s OSCE meeting in North Macedonia, which is not an EU member, due to Lavrov’s attendance and has previously called for Russia’s expulsion from the group.

Several diplomats and officials were seen leaving the hall ahead of Lavrov’s remarks.

Moscow has grown increasingly critical of the OSCE, which was set up to ease east-west tensions during the Cold War and aims to prevent conflict and manage crises in Europe.

The forum of 57 states meets to discuss security issues on the continent and carries out practical security work, including sending observers to conflicts and elections globally.

Last year, Lavrov claimed the OSCE was “being turned into an appendage of Nato and the European Union”, while Russia has hampered the group’s ability to function in recent years by vetoing several major decisions.

Moscow voted to suspend its involvement in its parliamentary assembly earlier this year, calling it anti-Russian and discriminatory.

Ahead of this week’s summit, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Lavrov would use the occasion to criticise the OSCE’s “institutional crisis”.

She said the OSCE had been “Ukrainised” and accused Western states of “using this platform for their own interests”.

Zakharova also wrote on Telegram that Malta had annulled her visa to accompany Lavrov to the meeting.

The Maltese foreign affairs office said that three OSCE member countries had objected to extending the visa to Zakharova, who is facing a travel ban.

While Lavrov is subject to EU sanctions, he is not under a travel ban.