Moscow, 28 February: Statements drafted in advance by foreign observers have nothing to do with an objective appraisal of Russia's electoral procedures, they are of a political nature and part of work against Russia, the head of the Russian Central Electoral Commission, Vladimir Churov, has said.

"We have warned that some observers come to the election with appraisals and conclusions they had made in advance. Such appraisals and conclusions have nothing in common with the objective reality and are part of international policy, part of work against Russia," Churov said on Thursday [28 February], speaking at a forum of young voters.

"PACE [the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe] head [Rene van der Linden] made a statement yesterday, but the mission itself has not started working yet," he said.

Yesterday Rene van der Linden has questioned the fairness of the upcoming 2 March presidential election in Russia and said there was no alternative.