The European Parliament (EP) will not send observers to the forthcoming presidential elections in Russia and Azerbaijan.

The aforesaid is noted in a statement by co-chairs David McAllister and Linda McAvan of the EP Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group, reported the Deutsche Welle (DW) TV and radio company of Germany.

“The European Parliament will not observe this electoral process and consequently will neither comment on the process nor on the results that will be announced afterwards,” the document notes. “No individual Member of the European Parliament has been mandated to observe or comment on this electoral process on its behalf.

“Therefore, should any Member of the European Parliament decide to observe these elections, she/he would do so on her/his own initiative and should under no circumstances commit the European Parliament through any statement or action.

“The offer by official Russian organisations to cover the expenses of travel and accommodation of some international observers goes against the fundamental ethics of election observation.

 “As regards Azerbaijan, the European Parliament will adopt its report on the relations between the EU and Azerbaijan during its plenary sitting before the summer recess. Only this report will represent the official position of the European Parliament on the matter.”

The presidential elections in Russia and Azerbaijan are slated for March 18 and April 11, respectively.