Moscow criticizes Ukraine's ban on Russian observers
(Baonghean.vn) - On February 11, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said that Kiev's ban on Russian observers at Ukraine's upcoming presidential election would harm the authority of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
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| Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin. Photo: AP |
In an interview with Sputnik news agency, Mr. Karasin stated: "We hope that Vienna will be able to force Kiev to comply with the OSCE's obligations. Otherwise, the authority and standards of this organization will suffer irreparable damage."
On February 7, the Ukrainian Parliament passed a law banning Russian observers from participating in the Ukrainian election.
Also in the interview, Mr. Karasin emphasized that holding a new summit in the Normandy format on the Ukraine issue (including Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine) is meaningless unless Kiev applies the law related to the status of the Donbass region, as well as withdraws troops from this area.
"Given Kiev's repeated reluctance to implement the agreements reached by the leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine at the summits in Paris in October 2015 and in Berlin in October 2016, the new summits in the Normandy format are purely procedural," the Russian diplomat said.