The Ministerial Council is the second highest decision-making body of the OSCE, which meets once a year. This year's 30th meeting of the Council of Ministers focused, among other things, on addressing the security challenges caused by the ongoing war against Ukraine. The participating States also adopted a consensus-based decision on the selection of Malta as the Chairpersonship-in-Office for 2024. At the same time, they agreed on at least a temporary extension of the mandates of the four OSCE senior officials (Secretary General Helga Schmid, Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro, High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov, and Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Matteo Mecacci) until 3 September 2024, despite the fact that Russia abused the rules of unanimous decision-making until the last moment.

Minister Jan Lipavský represented Czechia at the meeting. In his speech at the Ministerial Council, Minister Lipavský stressed the importance of the OSCE's assistance to Ukraine in coping with the consequences of Russian aggression. “The OSCE finds itself in a very difficult situation as a result of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Most of the participating States at the Ministerial Council made it clear that they want to counter Russia's undermining of the security architecture and are interested in preserving the OSCE. Thanks to its unique experience, the OSCE plays an important role in numerous regions important for the security of Europe,” Minister Lipavský said. Czechia has so far contributed a total of CZK 6 million to the OSCE Programme in Support of Ukraine and other related OSCE activities. Minister Lipavský also expressed his hope for a long-term peaceful settlement in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.