The special delegation of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe declared its readiness to visit the Crimea annexed by Russia to assess the situation with human rights in the occupied territory, the Russian Ministry of Defense says with reference to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

"The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights is considering the possibility of traveling to the Crimea to assess the situation with the violation of human rights on the peninsula," said the source in the OSCE, cited by the Mirror of the Week.

In his turn, the so-called "representative of the Crimea under the President of Russia" Georgy Muradov welcomed such an initiative of the OSCE ODIHR, as, he said, "Russia is in favor of visiting the country by international observers".

At the same time, Muradov said that "without Russia it would not be possible to come to the peninsula".

"Some get a Ukrainian visa and with its help try to get here, thus unambiguously making it clear that the Crimea allegedly belongs to Ukraine. Crimea is the territory of Russia. Therefore, it's impossible to come to the peninsula without discussing this issue with Moscow, "the" representative "said, trying to impress the OSCE with the position of the occupiers.