OSCE cancels observation of presidential elections in Russia

 “I regret that, once again, Russia has imposed such stringent restrictions on the OSCE’s monitoring of the presidential elections scheduled for 2 March that it will be impossible to monitor the elections in a fully adequate manner,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre.

“The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has developed a sound methodology for election observation that is internationally recognised and well established in OSCE member states,” the Foreign Minister underlined.

“It is most regrettable that Russia has imposed restrictions that make it impossible to observe the elections in a fully adequate manner. I hope that Russia again will come to see the advantages of cooperating closely with ODIHR and facilitating the fulfilment of its well-established mandate for election observation,” said Foreign Minister Støre.