Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov today accused the West of destabilising the "entire Eurasian continent" and warned that the Cold War that the west is waging can turn "hot".
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga branded Lavrov a "war criminal" as they both attended an international summit in Malta, the latter's first visit to an EU member since the 2022 invasion.
Sitting between the representatives of San Marino and Romania, Lavrov railed against the EU, Nato and in particular the United States.
He said the West was behind a "reincarnation of the Cold War, only now with a much greater risk of a transition to a hot one", according to a transcript of his remarks from RIA Navosti.
He also accused Washington of military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region that sought to "destabilise the entire Eurasian continent ".
Sybiga accused Moscow of being "the biggest threat to our common security" as the two foreign ministers sat on the same huge table at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also in Ta'Qali, near Valetta, for the talks, though officials said he had no plans to meet Lavrov.
"Russia is not a partner; it is the biggest threat to our common security. Russia's participation in the OSCE is a threat to cooperation in Europe," Sybiga told ministers from the 57-member body.
"When Russians say they want peace they lie," he said, adding: "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."
Lavrov, who has been sanctioned by the European Union, had not visited an EU country since a December 2021 trip to Stockholm, again for an OSCE meeting, Russian media reported.
The OSCE was founded in 1975 to ease tensions between the East and the West during the Cold War, and now counts 57 members from Turkey to Mongolia, including Britain and Canada as well as the United States.
It helps its members coordinate issues such as human rights and arms control, but Lavrov at the last ministerial summit a year ago in North Macedonia accused the OSCE of becoming an "appendage" of Nato and the EU.
Ukraine has called for Russia to be excluded from the organisation, and boycotted the Skopje summit over Lavrov's attendance.
Summit host Ian Borg, Malta's foreign minister, opened proceedings Thursday with a call for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.
Blinken also accused Lavrov -- who at that point was no longer in the room -- of spreading a "tsunami of misinformation" and blamed Moscow for an escalation in Ukraine.
Many other participants railed against Moscow's aggression at a delicate time for Kyiv.
US president-elect Donald Trump has vowed 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.
The OSCE sends observers to conflicts as well as elections around the world. It also runs programmes that aim to combat human trafficking and ensure media freedom.
But its efforts have been hampered by an inability to agree a budget since 2021.
