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Putin says US behind poll boycott Putin says US behind poll boycott
(40 minutes later)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of influencing Western observers into boycotting Russian elections. Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of pushing Western observers into boycotting Russian elections.
Mr Putin said the goal was to discredit the parliamentary election to be held on 2 December.Mr Putin said the goal was to discredit the parliamentary election to be held on 2 December.
He said the boycott decision "was taken on the recommendation of the American state department".He said the boycott decision "was taken on the recommendation of the American state department".
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe had blamed a lack of Russian assistance. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has categorically rejected the allegations.
'Nonsense'
The OSCE announced earlier this month that it would not attend Russia's election, saying Moscow had refused to provide visas to its staff.
A few days later it reversed the decision, saying it would send a delegation of European MPs to monitor the vote.
Mr Putin said the original decision was inspired by the US.
"The aim is to discredit the elections, but they won't achieve their goal," he said.
Our decision did not have the aim to influence the election Urdur Gunnarsdottir, OSCE spokeswoman
"We will certainly take this into account with our bilateral ties with this state," he added referring to the US.
But a spokeswoman for the OSCE in Warsaw, Urdur Gunnarsdottir, called Mr Putin's allegations "nonsense".
"The decision was not made in consultation with any government. It was made on operational, not political grounds," Ms Gunnarsdottir told the BBC.
"Our decision did not have the aim to influence the election."
The OSCE unites 56 member countries from Europe, Central Asia, the US and Canada.
The organisation will be represented by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which, together with the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, is sending about 100 MPs from member countries to Russia to observe the parliamentary poll next Saturday.