Russia will not allow the OSCE’s main election-monitoring body to observe its upcoming parliamentary elections, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed Thursday, accusing the organization of applying “double standards.” The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) “will not participate” in international observation of Russia’s September elections for that reason, Zakharova said during a Foreign Ministry briefing on Thursday.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. She claimed Russia was nevertheless fulfilling its international obligations by inviting other organizations and representatives from individual OSCE participating states to observe the vote. Russia will hold voting for the State Duma from Sept. 18 to 20, with the main election day scheduled for Sept. 20. The OSCE has sharply rejected Moscow’s justification, saying Russia’s failure to invite an official observation mission violates commitments it accepted under the 1990 Copenhagen Document. “The decision not to extend an invitation ... is deeply regrettable,” ODIHR Director Maria Telalian said earlier this month. The organization said it had attempted to engage Russian authorities ahead of the elections, including over the deployment of a standard pre-election assessment mission, but received no substantive response. Third election without OSCE scrutiny The September vote will mark the third consecutive nationwide Russian election that the OSCE has been unable to observe.