Updated 11.25am

Foreign ministers arriving for the OSCE conference in Ta' Qali this morning had strong words for Russia, with many saying they intend to avoid Sergey Lavrov altogether.  

“I will not be sitting at a table with Mr Lavrov,” Polish Foreign Affairs Minister Radosław Sikorski said of his Russian counterpart.

“Mr Lavrov is coming here to lie about the Russian invasion and what Russia is doing in Ukraine.  Russia corrupts every organisation - we need Russia to get out of Ukraine and only then will this organisation make sense," Sikorski said.

Lavrov – Russia’s foreign affairs minister and one of Vladimir Putin’s most trusted lieutenants – is leading a Russian delegation during a two-day OSCE ministerial council meeting hosted by Malta.

His attendance has divided members of the OSCE, the largest regional security organisation in the world, and those tensions were evident in brief comments various ministers gave the press as they entered the conference hall on Thursday morning.

While ministers, among them US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, gave no comments, others were happy to let their feelings be known.

Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp, told journalists he had no intention of shaking hands with Lavrov and was keen to “avoid him”.

Veldkamp said he also intended to push the European Union to suspend visa-free arrangements for Georgia, to send its pro-Russian government a message that violence against demonstrators “comes at a price”.

Latvia's Foreign Affairs Minister Baiba Braže also said she would not be meeting with Lavrov.

And Czechia’s Jan Lipavský was even more explicit about his feelings.

When asked if he had a message for Russia, the Czech minister had a brief response.

“Get out of Ukraine. That’s my message,” he said.

Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said the OSCE would remain a vital security organisation, despite Russia’s attempts to undermine it. 

“We will not allow Putin to bomb our Common Peace Order into dust and ashes, nor will we allow Russia to play its cynical game of undermining the foundational pillars of OSCE uncommented,” she said. 

Germany would be adding €17 million to the OSCE’s budget, she added.

Lavrov was among the last delegates to arrive in Ta’ Qali, entering at just past 10.20am without commenting to the press.