08/03/2018 (Agence Europe) – On 7 March, the European Parliament announced it would not observe presidential elections in Russia on 18 March or in Azerbaijan on 11 April, and would not comment either on the process or the results. It says that “no member of Parliament had been mandated to observe or comment these electoral processes on its behalf”. “If a member of Parliament were to decide to observe these elections, he/she would do so at his/her own initiative and in no case commit the Parliament by a statement or deed”, said the co-presidents of the support group for democracy and coordination of Parliament elections, David McAllister (EPP, Germany) and Linda McAvan (S&D, United Kingdom). In their view, the offer from the official Russian organisations to cover travel and accommodation costs of certain international observers runs counter to the fundamental ethics of election observation. (CG)