EU urges Russia to remove limits on poll observers

VIENNA (Reuters) - The European Union urged Russia on Thursday to remove what it said were "significant restrictions" on international observers sent to monitor its March 2 presidential election.

"The EU appeals to the Russian Federation to remove the ... restrictions on ODIHR's observation mission for the presidential elections," said a statement released in Vienna in the name of EU President Slovenia.

Europe's main election watchdog, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said on Wednesday it might pull out of the vote, citing official restrictions on the number of monitors allowed and the duration of their stay.

"We hope that all practical arrangements such as the issuing of visas will be facilitated expeditiously and that observers will be given unfettered access to the remaining electoral process," the EU statement added.

Vienna is the headquarters of the rights watchdog the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), of which ODIHR is the long-term election monitoring arm.

The statement, which was not released in Brussels as is the case for most EU Presidency communiques, voices the strongest concern yet by the 27-member bloc about the staging of elections in Russia.

President Vladimir Putin's preferred successor Dmitry Medvedev is well ahead of all rivals, who have complained that the vote is being slanted in his favor by the Kremlin.

For more on Russia's presidential election, please see our blog "Operation Successor" at blogs.reuters.com/russia.

(Reporting by Mark Heinrich; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Jon Boyle)