Moscow has no plans of allowing OSCE observers to Crimea

Russia does not think it is necessary to allow OSCE representatives to its territory, Russian Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Alexander Lukashevich told Life TV channel on Friday.

"We do not think it is necessary to allow OSCE representative to the Russian Federation," he said.

• Lukashevich recalled that the Republic of Crimea is not the mandate territory of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission after its incorporation into Russia. "There is a clearly defined mandate, which includes the current territory of Ukraine," the ambassador said.

He added that, in addition to the Ukrainian side, "Western partners are too interested in seeing what is really happening in Crimea," but Russia provides this information to the full extent.

Earlier on Friday, Kiev urged the Russian Foreign Ministry to allow representatives of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to visit Crimea to evaluate the situation on the Black Sea peninsula.
[tass.ru]
12/8/16
--
-
Related:

• UN Security Council's meeting on Crimea was useful for Russia (Vitaly Churkin) 

• Vitaly Churkin: There Is No Going Back on Crimea

• NATO Does Not Believe Ukraine Was Plotting Terrorist Attacks in Crimea

• EU issues statement concerning events in Crimea