Leonid Slutskiy: Russia will raise the issue of violation of the rights of national minorities in Ukraine in PACE

Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs noted that violation of the rights of national minorities in Ukraine requires the close attention of the international community. He thinks that “the PACE reaction will be an indicator of the true support for democracy and European values”
Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutskiy
Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutskiy

Commenting on the statement by Verkhovna Rada Speaker Dmitry Razumkov about the existence of “only one nation in Ukraine”, Leonid Slutskiy Slutsky Leonid Eduardovich Slutsky
Leonid Eduardovich
stated that “violation of the rights of national minorities in Ukraine requires the close attention of the international community”. “Such statements once again confirm that nationalist ideology, in fact, has become firmly entrenched in the minds of public authorities in Kiev. This is real harassment to a part of its own population, which continues to speak and think, in particular, in Russian,” continues the parliamentarian.

He believes that the laws adopted and signed under President Poroshenko on the exclusivity of the Ukrainian language and on education violate Ukraine’s international obligations regarding the implementation of such fundamental documents of the Council of Europe as the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. “And those who fight for the right to teach children in their native Russian language — this is Donbas — continue to be persecuted with weapons,” added Leonid Slutskiy.

Chairman of the Committee emphasized that this applies not only to Russian-speaking citizens. He supported the position of the Chairman of the State Duma: “Viacheslav Volodin Volodin Vyacheslav Victorovich Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich
The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast)
is absolutely right in saying that the situation with national minorities in Ukraine is egregious. There is a consistent violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms within the Council of Europe.”

“Very soon the Russian delegation intends to raise the issue of protection of national minorities in Ukraine at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. And the PACE reaction will be an indicator of the true support for democracy and European values,” concluded the Chairman of the Committee.