OSCE to Monitor Ahead of Schedule

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is slated to conduct long-term monitoring of the coming presidential elections in Ukraine, said OSCE Secretary General Jan Kubis. “Naturally, there will be observers here, and I have received today confirmation of the invitation,” he told a Kyiv press conference on March 2 after meeting Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Oleh Shamshur. Mr. Kubis also noted, “Of course, this involves a certain process and procedures to be formally confirmed later, but our presence is expected. This will not be confined to the elections as such — this would be insufficient; this would not be OSCE practice. This will be really long-term monitoring that will begin months before the elections themselves.” Mr. Kubis also met President Leonid Kuchma and Verkhovna Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn on March 2.