Suspected Russian spy, O surveyer SEU Elections in Serbia

A Russian diplomat and suspected spy expelled from the European Union due to the <x1 illegal and divisive” will serve as observers of the upcoming parliamentary and local elections in Serbia, under the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSBE), Mr.There's a radio investigation of Free Europe.

Alexandr Studnikin, 49, was adviser to Russia's EU permanent mission in Brussels, when he and 18 other Russian diplomats were declared undesirable people in April 2022 two months after Russia began its full invasion of Ukraine.

The EU said Russian diplomats, included in the blacklist, engaged in “activitiesagainst EU interests and security and its member states”.

Now, Studnikin is in the middle of a group of 30 election monitors who will represent it. O SEU in Serbia's elections for Parliament and for 65 municipalities, December 17th.

A media report claimed earlier that Studnikin was an employee of Russia's foreign intelligence service, known as SVR. A senior European official with access to classified information also told Radio Free Europe that Studnikin works for SVR, even though he himself denies any link to intelligence.

Studnikin is one of four Russians on the list of long-term monitors of the O Office mission. The SEU for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

According to OSCEThese observers are responsible for monitoring the entire election process, “to clearly understand general administrative procedures and campaign environment”.

The group also includes observers from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Denmark, Belarus and seven other countries.

Studnikin's task in Serbia is temporary, but this country has become a destination for Russian diplomats expelled from the EU./Full text: REL/