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Russia favors reforming OSCE election monitoring system, says diplomat

The first round of Ukraine’s presidential election was held on March 31

ST. PETERSBURG, April 4. /TASS/. Russia insists on the need to reform the OSCE monitoring system in the wake of Kiev’s decision to ban Russian observers from monitoring Ukraine’s presidential election, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Thursday.

"That’s another example of the need to move towards reforming the election monitoring mechanisms, putting them on a solid contractual basis ruling out the possibility of dividing countries into some groups or subgroups," he told reporters. "All our proposals are on the negotiating table in Vienna."

"We are confident that the implementation of these proposals will ultimately boost confidence in the monitoring mechanisms," the diplomat added.

The first round of Ukraine’s presidential election was held on March 31. With 100% of ballots processed, Vladimir Zelensky garnered 30.24% of the vote, while incumbent President Pyotr Poroshenko secured 15.95% of the vote. The runoff election is scheduled for April 21.

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