MOSCOW, February 6 (RIA Novosti) - The OSCE's election monitoring arm said on Wednesday it would send a team of five technical experts ahead of the arrival of observers for Russia's presidential elections March 2 elections.
Russia agreed on Tuesday to bring forward the arrival date for observers from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and to increase the previous quota of 70 observers invited to the polls.
Curtis Budden, an ODIHR spokesman, said the five experts would have to find accommodation, interpreters and drivers, as well as solve communications-related issues.
The Russian embassy in Poland confirmed it had issued visas to the first five observers, who are expected to fly out to Moscow later Wednesday.
"I can officially confirm that the first five visas have been issued for the OSCE's ODIHR mission," Vasily Timofeyev, who heads the embassy's consulate department, said pledging to issue fast-track visas to the other observers on instructions from Russia's top election officials.
Another 15 ODIHR observers were originally expected to arrive in Russia on Friday. The group should monitor Russia's media ensuring the four presidential candidates have equal press coverage.
However, the latest reports quoted Budden as saying in a telephone interview that the ODIHR would now send 18, not 15 observers, representing 15 countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Tajikistan.
Budden stressed that as the sole organization among those invited that handles long-term monitoring, the ODIHR would insist that its initial demands be met. Among other things, the Office has demanded that its 50 observers arrive two weeks ahead of the elections.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement following a meeting between Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko and ambassadors from the EU troika earlier on Wednesday. The ministry urged reform of the ODIHR over its reluctance to cooperate with Russia within its election commission mandate.
"The fact that the ODIHR is not ready to cooperate with Russia within the mandate fixed in an invitation submitted by our Central Election Commission is further proof that the OSCE's institution badly needs reform," the ministry said.
Russian diplomats also said that universal regulations should be worked out within the OSCE to aid cooperation between the ODIHR and the organization's member countries.
Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) had earlier invited ODHIR observers to arrive in Russia from February 27-28. The ODHIR subsequently requested that it be allowed to enter the country earlier so as to more effectively monitor the election campaign.
The CEC said on Tuesday that the first team of 20 observers could arrive on February 8, and another 50 on February 20.
