Kiev's Banning Polling Stations In Russia Bid To Influence Ukraine's Upcoming Vote -Lavrov

Kiev's Banning Polling Stations in Russia Bid to Influence Ukraine's Upcoming Vote -Lavrov

Moscow treats Ukraine's decision not to open polling stations for the upcoming presidential election on the country's diplomatic premises in Russia as an attempt to influence the results of the vote, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) Moscow treats Ukraine's decision not to open polling stations for the upcoming presidential election on the country's diplomatic premises in Russia as an attempt to influence the results of the vote, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday.

According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, Kiev's decision is related to security concerns.

"We see behind the decision not to open polling stations in the Ukrainian diplomatic missions in Russia an attempt to artificially influence the election results in favor of the current government," the minister said after the meeting with his German counterpart Heiko Maas.

Lavrov also slammed Klimkin's reasoning as "standing no criticism."

"We regularly hold a huge number of international events. During the FIFA World Cup, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of foreigners, including many Ukrainians, I do not recall a single case indicating lack of security conditions," the minister said.�