Ukraine will not Register Russian Observers at Presidential Elections

Under Ukrainian law, Russia is an “aggressor country”. Therefore, Kyiv will not allow Russian observers to attend the presidential elections in Ukraine. Kyiv will not accept applications for registration as observers in the presidential election from individuals who have Russian citizenship, said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin on Wednesday, January 9, on his Facebook page. Klimkin published a photocopy of the official letter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir. Sending this document, the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially informs the organization about the presidential elections in Ukraine scheduled for March 31 and extended an invitation  to the OSCE to send a commission of international observers to the country. At the same time, Klimkin emphasizes that his ministry will not accept applications for accreditation as official observers from foreign states or international organizations from the holders of “Russian passport or other individuals seconded by the Russian side”. Russia is an aggressor country “Among other quite standard things, he noticed that the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine will not accept applications for registration of Russian observers”, Klimkin wrote on his Facebook page. This decision Klimkin explains of adopted the law “On the peculiarities of State policy on ensuring Ukraine’s State sovereignty over temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions” in January 2018 which recognizes Russia as an “aggressor country” and “occupying force”. Source: facenews