Sweden regrets obstacles to election observers in Russia
Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt spoke today in Madrid at the Ministerial Council of the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
"It is deeply regrettable that Russia has set up restrictions for the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights (ODIHR) to carry out election observation in the coming Russian Duma elections.
This has resulted in the election observer force having to stay at home. This is a setback for the OSCE - as well as for
Russia. We can now only hope that the ODIHR will be given the opportunity to observe the upcoming presidential election
in Russia next year.
"The fact that the ODIHR has been invited by Georgia's government to send election observers to the upcoming
presidential and parliamentary elections is welcomed. It has become clear recently that democratic developments in
Georgia are rather fragile. A well-functioning election process, supported by the OSCE, and freedom of the media are
therefore of critical importance," says Carl Bildt.
ENDS