Neutral Malta to chair OSCE after Moscow blocks NATO member Estonia

The OSCE sign is seen outside Hofburg Palace as a Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) takes place in Vienna, Austria, February 23, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

VIENNA (Reuters) - The 57 member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe agreed on Monday that Malta should take over the organization's rotating chairmanship after Russia barred Estonia from the job, officials said.

OSCE countries' foreign ministers meet on Thursday and Friday in the North Macedonian capital of Skopje to discuss the chair role and renewing four senior OSCE officials in their posts at the Vienna-based organisation.