The lack of reaction of the Council of Europe (CoE) to such massive violations as discrimination against the Russian and Russian-speaking population in Ukraine and the Baltic countries undermines the authority of the CoE, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on 28 February in a message to CE Secretary General Maria Peichinovich-Burich on the occasion of the 25th anniversary the entry of the Russian Federation into the Council of Europe.
“The organization, which emerged on the ruins of the Second World War, should not indifferently look at the manifestations of historical revisionism and the exaltation of Nazi accomplices,” says a publication on the Foreign Ministry’s website.
Lavrov also noted that the potential of the Council of Europe is in demand to unite the efforts of states in health care amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“No geopolitical or economic calculations should be put above the interests of protecting the health of our own citizens,” he stressed.
The head of the Russian foreign policy department wished Peichinovich-Burich success in her responsible mission.
On February 26, the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly (PA) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also pointed to the violation of the rights of Russian-speaking citizens in Ukraine.
Lavrov said earlier in February that discrimination against the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine is a growing concern. The diplomat called the situation when the protection of the state language is accompanied by repressions against national minorities is unacceptable.
In April 2019, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law “On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language.” The document provides for the creation of a special “language commission”, which should monitor compliance with the law, the introduction of exams for officials that determine the level of knowledge of the Ukrainian language, and fines for violation of the law.
The norm on the compulsory use of the Ukrainian language in the service sector on the territory of Ukraine entered into force on January 16, 2021. In the first two weeks, over 300 complaints were received due to violations of the law, including because of the denial of service in the state language, the lack of a Ukrainian-language version of documents, signboards and price tags.