OREANDA-NEWS  Russia will refrain from sending its observers to the elections of the Ukrainian President. This decision is based on security. At the same time, the absence of Russian observers will cast doubt on the elections in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

It was planned that representatives of the Russian side from the observation mission of the OSCE Office for democratic institutions and human rights (ODIHR) will be sent to the elections of the Ukrainian President. They were supposed to arrive in Kiev on February, 11.

On Friday, February 8, ODIHR received a notification from Kiev, which contained a refusal to accredit observers from Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the trip of long-term observers is canceled for security reasons.

The Ministry's message also indicates that in the absence of Russian observers at the elections, as well as depriving Ukrainians of the opportunity to vote in Russia, the objectivity of the voting results is questioned. The Foreign Ministry considers the refusal of the Ukrainian side to accredit observers as a violation of international obligations in the field of electoral procedures. Kiev has once again demonstrated total disregard for the norms of international law.

At the same time, the ODIHR has no mechanisms that would allow to influence the decision of the Ukrainian authorities. Thomas Reimer, a press Secretary of the Bureau, told about this. He stated that the agreements between the OSCE participating States oblige to certain actions from the point of view of politics, but not the law. Raimer added that in the list, which the organization sent to Kiev, there were 92 observers, two of them - citizens of Russia. If Russian observers are not accredited and denied entry, the OSCE is unable to change the decision of the Ukrainian authorities. Only accredited observers may participate in the mission.

Earlier it was reported that Russian observers will go to Ukraine despite the ban, which was announced by the Verkhovna Rada.