European Legislators Call for Removal of Putin's Translator from Election Monitoring Mission in Hungary
A group of European Parliament members has urged the removal of Daria Boyarska, former personal translator for Vladimir Putin, from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission tasked with independently monitoring the upcoming elections in Hungary, scheduled for April 12.
A coalition of European Parliament members, representing various political parties, has called for the dismissal of Daria Boyarska, who previously served as Vladimir Putin's personal translator, from the OSCE mission that is set to monitor the elections in Hungary. This call comes amid significant criticism from the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE.
An open letter, signed by 56 members of the European Parliament and published on April 6, expresses 'serious concerns' regarding Boyarska's involvement in the mission. The letter states that 'individuals entrusted with such roles undergo stringent security vetting by Russian authorities and are deemed highly reliable for the Russian state.'
The signatories also highlight reports indicating that Boyarska has longstanding ties to the Russian government, as she was deemed an 'undesirable person' by the Polish Internal Security Agency. This has raised additional alarm among European legislators who believe that Boyarska's presence could compromise the objectivity of the election monitoring process.
Furthermore, it has been reported that Russia has dispatched a team to Budapest with the intention of influencing the elections in favor of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Concurrently, opposition leader Péter Márki-Zay has suggested that Russian interference may also be linked to a potential plot to sabotage a crucial gas pipeline supplying gas to Hungary.
The OSCE regularly sends election observation missions to all European countries, involving observers from various nations. In response to the letter from the signatories, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, Per Joan Pons Sampietro, reaffirmed his trust in 'every member of our staff... until proven otherwise that they have violated the Code of Conduct' and dismissed the possibility of taking action against Boyarska.
In his response, he also questioned the motives of the letter's signatories, stating, 'I will not tolerate public insults, and especially targeted attacks on staff—especially women—without substantial evidence.'
This response did not sit well with the letter's main signatory, Green Party MEP Daniel Freund, who expressed his disappointment in comments to the Kyiv Independent. 'This does not address the essence of the problem: civil society and the opposition refuse to meet with election observers while a close associate of Putin is part of the mission. Under these circumstances, election monitoring cannot function properly,' Freund stated.
He also criticized Pons Sampietro for dismissing the raised concerns so 'lightly,' while Europe 'witnesses a form of Russian influence in an EU member state that has not been seen at such an intensity before.'