OSCE Urges Kiev to Contribute to Democracy, Allow Russia to Observe Election

PRAGUE (Sputnik) - Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, told his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin that the refusal of Kiev to allow Russian observers to the election was contrary to the principles of the OSCE member states, Slovak Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Gandel told Sputnik.

"Understanding the complexity of the current situation in relations between Kiev and Moscow, I want, nevertheless, to ask you to respect the principles that have been guided by the OSCE for more than a decade, and thereby contribute to the democratic process and monitoring of elections that are of utmost importance for further development of your country," Lajcak told Klimkin during a meeting on Sunday in Brussels, cited by Gandel.

The two ministers met in Brussels before the meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers Council, the spokesman added. They discussed the current situation in Ukraine and its neighborhood with an emphasis on the upcoming March presidential elections in Ukraine. According to Gandel, Lajchak urged Klimkin to review decision to ban Russia's representatives from observing elections in Ukraine.

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The ministers also discussed specific measures to improve the living conditions of the civilian population on both sides of the contact line in Donbass, which is expected to be discussed during Lajcak's upcoming visit to Moscow on Tuesday, Gandel added.

The vote in Ukraine is scheduled for 31 March. The election campaign was launched on 31 December 2018, along with the registration of candidates. The Ukrainian Election Commission has announced that over 40 candidates had been registered to compete for the presidency, which is a new record.

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE plan to request to 56 OSCE member states, including Russia, to participate in a short-term monitoring mission at the upcoming presidential election in Ukraine with some 750 monitors in total needed for the task.

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has, however, said that he would instruct the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service to deny entry to Russian observers coming for the 31 March election. The Ukrainian parliament later passed a bill proposing to ban Russia's representatives from observing elections in Ukraine.

OSCE ODIHR Director Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir has expressed her regret over Kiev's decision, while Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin has stressed that Moscow will defend its right to monitor the election.