ODIHR/PACE WILL NOT OBSERVE RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 000322 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/07/2018 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL RS SUBJECT: ODIHR/PACE WILL NOT OBSERVE RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS REF: A. MOSCOW 296 ¶B. MOSCOW 303 Classified By: POL M/C Alice G. Wells for reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Russia and ODIHR failed to bridge the five-day difference over the timing of the arrival of an observer mission for the March 2 presidential elections, with the CEC failing to respond to ODIHR's last counteroffer. PACE, which did observe the December Duma elections, also announced that it would not take part in observing the presidential elections due to GOR restrictions. In February 6 comments, GOR officials accused ODIHR of overstepping its grounds, maintained that Russia's offer exceeded the parameters set in an "overwhelming majority" of other member-states, and reiterated calls for ODIHR's reform. CEC said it learned of the ODIHR and PACE decisions through the media. We can expect the GOR to redouble its calls for ODIHR's reform. End summary. -------------- ODIHR, CEC CANNOT REACH AGREEMENT -------------- ¶2. (SBU) A matter of days separated the two sides in the negotiations over the arrival of ODIHR's observer mission for the March 2 presidential elections. CEC Chairman Churov told ODIHR negotiators during talks February 3 - 4 that five logisticians could come to Moscow February 5, twenty longer-term observers on February 7, and 55 observers on February 20. In response to this proposal, ODIHR Director Strohal requested via letter to Churov that its final 55 observers be permitted to arrive in Russia February 15 in order to be fully deployed throughout the country by February ¶18. CEC International Affairs Section Head Nikolay Zhukov told us February 7 that the CEC had not made a counter-offer to ODIHR following receipt of the letter from Strohal. With no response from CEC to this request, ODIHR on February 7 announced that it had decided not to send an observer mission. ¶3. (SBU) According to the press statement, ODIHR expressed regret that "restrictions imposed on its planned election observation mission will not allow it to observe" the election. "We made every effort in good faith to deploy our mission, even under the conditions imposed by the Russian authorities," said ODIHR Director Strohal in the statement. "We have a responsibility to all 56 participating States to fulfill our mandate, and the Russian Federation has created limitations that are not conducive to undertaking election observation in accordance with it." ¶4. (SBU) The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE),which sent a delegation of parliamentarians to observe the December Duma elections, also announced February 7 that it would not send a delegation to the presidential elections. ODIHR did not take part in December's Duma elections due to restrictions placed on its observer mission. -------------- RUSSIAN RESPONSE -------------- ¶5. (SBU) As of 1600 local time, there was no official response from the GOR to ODIHR's announcement. A statement posted to the MFA web site on February 6 following a meeting between Deputy FM Grushko and ambassadors of the European Union Troika, argued that the Russian side had acted in accordance with its international obligations, specifically mentioning the Copenhagen, Budapest and Istanbul OSCE agreements. The statement accused ODIHR of trying to supersede the collective political obligations of OSCE participating states and claimed that the conditions offered by the CEC were better than the parameters set for international monitors in most other OSCE countries. The statement went on to argue for basic OSCE reforms that would avoid "double standards" and accord member-states equal status. ¶6. (SBU) Zhukov reported that CEC first heard of ODIHR's decision via the news. PACE also had not informed the CEC of its decision prior to announcing it through the media, he said. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) While the prickly relationship between CEC Chairman MOSCOW 00000322 002 OF 002 Churov and Strohal may have contributed to the failure to bridge the difference, Russia remains adamantly opposed to ODIHR's independence in setting parameters of observer missions and largely indifferent to the international criticism that ODIHR's decision will generate. We can expect the GOR to redouble its calls for reform of the institution. With both ODIHR and PACE stepping aside, increased attention will be drawn to the work of local election monitoring organizations, many Western-financed, who already face close GOR scrutiny. BURNS