Pushkov expects impartiality from OSCE monitors in Ukraine
MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) - State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov says the decision to send an OSCE monitoring mission to Ukraine is correct as long as this mission is impartial.
"The sending of an OSCE mission to Ukraine is a correct step. But it has to be impartial, not just replicate the position of the incumbent Kyiv authorities," Pushkov wrote on Twitter on Monday.
The OSCE Permanent Council decided on March 21 to deploy an international monitoring mission in Ukraine. Initially, the mission will consist of 100 civilian monitors who will be deployed in nine Ukrainian regions for a period of six months. However, the mission may be extended at the request of Ukraine.
Russia counts on an objective and impartial work of the OSCE international monitors in Ukraine, which will help eliminate ultra-radical trends and achieve national accord, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a commentary posted on its website on Saturday.
It also said that the mission mandate reflected the new political and legal realities and did not apply to Crimea and Sevastopol, which had become integral parts of Russia.