The European Union expressed "regret" Thursday over the decision by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to cancel its election monitoring mission to Russia, according to dpa. In a statement issued on behalf of the 27 member states, the EU presidency blamed the mission's failure on "restrictions" imposed by Moscow. "The (EU) presidency regrets that, due to the restrictions contained in the invitation to the 2 March Russian presidential elections issued by the authorities of the Russian Federation and subsequent unsuccessful talks ... the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) was put in a situation where it found it impossible to execute its mandate and cancelled the election observation mission," the statement said. The decision was also met with disappointment by Benita Ferrero- Waldner, the EU commissioner in charge of external relations. "Once again I urge the Russian authorities to make sure that these elections will be conducted in accordance with Russia's commitments as a member of the OSCE," Ferrero-Waldner said. Such views were echoed in similar statements issued in Finland, the current chair of the 56-nation OSCE organization.
