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Russia’s Foreign Minister Rejected ODIHR’s Ultimatum
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the standing of OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) an ultimatum to what no state of self-respect would bow. The ODIHR, Lavrov said, invented its own regulations, the key problem of which was the absolute non-transparency, Interfax reported.
The ODIHR spokesman Curtis Baden said February 6 the mission of 50 observers would either arrive in Russia February 15 or ODIHR wouldn't go there at all. But Lavrov didn’t yield to the ultimatum. The minister said Russia’s Central Election Commission had compromised with ODIHR and quite a number of countries didn't invite the observers a month prior to the elections and the number of such observers didn't surpass ten to 12 people.
ODIHR rebuffed February 7. The organization officially refused to deploy its mission to the March 2, 2008 presidential election in Russia due to imposed restrictions.
www.kommersant.com
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