MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/. Russia will continue to defend and insist on the full restoration of the rights of the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine as a factor for a long-term peaceful resolution of the crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated.
"Respect for the Russian language, the great culture created on its basis, and the people who speak it are very important for us," Lavrov said in a video address on the occasion of Russian Language Day.
"We cannot tolerate discrimination, not to mention the open terror against everything Russian that was unleashed by the Kiev regime," Lavrov emphasized. "Russia will not leave Russians and Russian-speaking people in trouble and will make sure that their legal rights, including the right to speak their native language, are restored in full. We will continue to highlight this pressing problem on international platforms. We will insist on having it resolved as a prerequisite for a lasting, peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict."
The Kiev regime is "systematically and legally" eradicating everything related to Russia, with particular hatred directed at "the Russian language, the use of which is subject to numerous restrictions, including legal ones," the Russian foreign minister pointed out.
