Even the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly concluded that Kiev regime is capable of any provocation to prevent an objective observation of the elections, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers. Earlier, Head of OSCE PA George Tsereteli advised Moscow not to send observers to the election of Ukrainian President as part of the OSCE mission, RIA Novosti reports. In his opinion, in this way it will be possible to avoid provocations. He also expressed doubt that the OSCE would be able to provide security to the observers from our country.
The PA Chairman added that this international structure supports sending observers to elections in other countries. Nevertheless, Russia should take into account the existing circumstances and difficulties, he clarified. Tsereteli noted that he would be grateful to Russian side if it “makes a more balanced decision.”
OSCE urged sending observers to the election in Ukraine, MFA Russia representative Maria Zakharova noted. She recalled that international observers representing various countries and political forces were not invented in Russia.
Tsereteli suggested that in the future, the OSCE will develop a regulation, according to which, one of the countries will have a right to refuse observers from the other one in the absence of a conflict between them. “If a country, for example, does not have diplomatic relations with another country, or has hostile relations, then why should we give the green light to some complications?” he noted.
Vice-speaker of State Duma Peter Tolstoy, who heads the Russian delegation, did not agree with him. He noted, “This means that next time such steps (non-admission of observers, – ed.) will be taken against other countries. Where is this measure of conflict? ”
Head of State Duma’s International Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky recalled that proposed approach contradicts both the logic of the Assembly and the practice of observing the electoral process. This is the first situation in recent history, “when one country says that it will not accept observers from this country”.