On Thursday, February 21, a two-day winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) opened in Vienna. One of the topics of discussion, which was raised by European deputies, was the issue of the presence of Russian observers in the upcoming March 31 presidential elections in Ukraine.

And, according to OSCE PA Chairman George Tsereteli, Moscow should not send its representatives to the neighboring state to monitor the electoral process.

“Still, if you do not do this, it will be better. This is our vision, ”said Tsereteli at a meeting with the Russian delegation.

In his opinion, such a step would help avoid creating prerequisites for provocations. At the same time, he noted that the organization would not be able to “guarantee the security” of Russian observers, who, according to the law recently passed in Ukraine, are prohibited from working in elections.

“If the Russian side does not push it and makes a more informed decision, we will be grateful for it,” Tsereteli added.

This recommendation, of course, did not go unnoticed by Moscow. The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Maria Zakharova, stated that even the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was aware of the fact that Kiev is ready to make provocations, “just to thwart objective observation of the elections”.

“And two more important notes. The first. The fact is that it was not Moscow that came up with international observers representing various countries and political forces. The second. It was the OSCE representatives who urged Russia to send observers to the Ukrainian elections, ”Zakharova recalled.

In turn, the secretary of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, Maya Grishina, called the situation “unprecedented and abnormal” in which Russian observers in the international mission cannot guarantee security.

"This is in principle contrary to the election itself, because the elections must be held in a secure environment, otherwise they cannot be considered free and open," the CEC representative quotes RIA Novosti.

"It is very strange to work out the agenda"

According to Aleksey Mukhin, Director General of the Center for Political Information, the very fact that in this situation the head of the OSCE PA makes recommendations to the Russian side, rather than trying to point out to Kiev the need to ensure the transparency of the upcoming elections.

“Of course, the OSCE PA understands the provocativeness of Ukrainian politics, but some of its representatives work out the agenda very strangely, especially given that it goes against the interests of the OSCE itself. And this should be the reason for a careful disciplinary review of their activity in this direction. Maybe they make this kind of statement out of selfish motives. A Russian proverb about a straw and a log in the eye comes to mind here, ”the source said.

In turn, political analyst Alexander Asafov stressed that despite the clear awareness of what is happening in various international organizations, including the OSCE, politicians, unfortunately, can not always express their real position due to certain corporate interests.

“Since the organization has a certain regime of support for Kiev, it is not accepted to talk out loud about the realities of what is happening in Ukraine. This also applies to the reports of the OSCE observation groups on the contact line, who often write about the shelling from the Ukrainian side. However, at a higher level, this is not noticed and the standard position on the need for the implementation of the Minsk agreements by Russia is discussed. Of course, such things are constantly broadcast, this is a general consensus, ”the expert noted.

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He also stated that at present there is still an anti-Russian installation in the West.

“The task of the common Western world is to create provocations against the Russian Federation, including on the international, diplomatic and political fields. That is, if Russia sends observers, this is bad. And bad, if not send. And this has nothing to do with what is happening in Ukraine, ”Asafov said in a conversation with RT.

"A strange combination of circumstances"

We add that on the first day of the OSCE PA winter session, the amendments to the “Draft OSCE PA Guidelines on Election Observation” were also discussed, according to which states are given the opportunity, under the pretext of conflict of interests, to deny other countries to observe elections in international organizations.

“In fact, of course, such an opportunity gives some indulgence to the Kiev authorities to violate the fundamental principles of election observation,” said the head of the Russian delegation and the vice-speaker of the State Duma, Peter Tolstoy.

According to him, domestic diplomats managed to prevent the adoption of this document and send it for revision. The parliamentarian stated that the principle of determining the suitability of an observer is not in the interests of an independent study of the democratic nature of the election procedure.

“And one more thing: somehow due to a strange coincidence of circumstances, just due to Ukraine’s unwillingness to fulfill OSCE commitments to observe elections, it’s in these rules that a point arises whereby a country having a conflict can refuse to participate by observers "- said Tolstoy.

Recall that on March 31, 2019, Ukraine will hold its next presidential election. Ukrainian citizens will choose the head of state from among 44 candidates, among them the current leader Petro Poroshenko, the head of the Batkivshchyna party Yulia Tymoshenko, as well as the leader in the fight for the post of Ukrainian leader, according to the latest poll, showman Vladimir Zelensky.

Against this background, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Andrei Parubiy, signed a law banning Russian observers from monitoring the electoral process. In the near future, the document must be signed by Petro Poroshenko, who has already promised to give an order not to allow Russian representatives to Ukraine.