MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2021) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday said he would not rule out there will be attempts to influence the upcoming parliamentary elections via international observers.
"Of course, there will be attempts to exert direct impact through election observers from the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe], the Council of Europe," Lavrov said during an online conference hosted by the ruling United Russia party.
OSCE rules spell out neither the terms for inviting election observers nor their number, the minister noted, adding however that Russia will continue to invite them in line with its commitments.
The Russian legislative elections will take place from September 17-19.
