PARIS, March 13. /TASS/. The European Parliament will not observe the Russian presidential election or provide any comments on the event, lawmakers David McAllister and Thomas Tobe said in a statement

"The European Parliament will not observe this electoral process and consequently will comment neither on the process nor on the results that will be announced afterwards," said the statement posted to McAllister’s personal website. "No individual member of the European Parliament has been mandated to observe or comment on this electoral process on its behalf."

"Therefore, if any member of the European Parliament decides to comment on these elections, they would do so on their own initiative and should under no circumstances commit the European Parliament through any statement or action," the lawmakers said.

The Russian Federation Council, or upper house of parliament, officially designated March 17, 2024 as the day of the presidential election. The Russian Central Election Commission then announced that voting will take place over three days from March 15-17.