WRAPUP 1-European watchdog rejects Russian election offer

By Christian Lowe and Conor Sweeney

MOSCOW, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Russia offered on Tuesday to ease restrictions on international observers monitoring its March 2 presidential vote, but Europe's main election watchdog said the concessions did not go far enough.

The issue of the monitors has caused friction between Western governments, which want reassurances the vote will be free and fair, and a Kremlin which has firmly rejected what it calls foreign interference in the election.

The election to choose a successor for President Vladimir Putin is set to be dominated by Dmitry Medvedev, the 42-year-old chairman of gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) who is buoyed by Putin's endorsement and an economy at its strongest in a generation.

A Medvedev win would ensure that Putin, 55, retains considerable power: Medvedev is his loyal ally and Putin has said he may stay on as prime minister.

Russia's Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a decision by election chiefs to bar former prime minister and Kremlin critic Mikhail Kasyanov from running against Medvedev. He said he was the victim of a Kremlin plot to keep him off the ballot.

Election watchdog the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has said it may pull out of monitoring the election after Russia restricted the number of observers and said they could only come 3 days before polling day.

The European Union has urged Russia to remove what it called "significant restrictions" on the monitoring mission. Western governments see ODIHR's assessment as the best yardstick of whether an election was fair.

Russian election officials on Tuesday gave some ground, saying the monitors could come a week earlier.