Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said the ministry will not register observers from Russia for the upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine.
"I really don't see any conflict. We have clearly said the Foreign Ministry will not register official observers from the Russian Federation for the upcoming elections. This is our political position. This is evidence that Russia is an aggressor state," Klimkin said at a joint press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Tomáš Petříček, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
Read alsoUkrainian rock star Vakarchuk not to run for president in 2019 (Video)
"It is even impossible to allow Russian official observers to Ukraine from the legal point of view," Klimkin said.
"Therefore, we have sent an official letter to the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), informing that there cannot be any Russian observers here. There were precedents in the history of the OSCE," he said.
"It's already very clear here. Russia can declare anything it wants. But by definition, there cannot be any observers from Russia at this election," Klimkin said.
He reiterated only two agencies in Ukraine may officially register observers, namely the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Central Election Commission (CEC).
"I hope the CEC will not register Russian official observers as well. This is completely wrong either from the political, or from the legal, and, finally, from the moral point of view. And I don't see any conflict here," he said.
In addition, Klimkin added "those who organize illegitimate elections in occupied Crimea and occupied Donbas have nothing to do in Ukraine."
