MOSCOW. Jan 20 (Interfax) - Russia's Federation Council has urged Western nations to influence the Ukrainian authorities in order to prevent any infringements of the rights of Russian-speaking citizens in Ukraine and has called for discussing the issue at the parliamentary assemblies of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.
"Senators of the Russian Federation call on Western allies of Ukraine and international human rights organizations to use all instruments of influence at their disposal on the Ukrainian authorities in order to immediately put a stop to the infringement of the rights of ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking residents of the country, which has declared a commitment to European values," the Federation Council said in a statement on Wednesday.
The upper chamber of the Russian parliament "expresses serious concern about the ongoing infringement of the rights of ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine."
The Federation Council noted that the provisions of the Ukrainian Law "On Ensuring the Functioning of Ukrainian as the State Language" took effect on January 16, 2021, and compelled all service providers irrespective of their form of ownership to provide consumer services and information regarding commodities and services in the Ukrainian language.
The statement noted that the policy of forced Ukrainization is a key reason for the domestic Ukrainian conflict in Donbas.
The Russian senators believe that the Ukrainian Law "On Ensuring the Functioning of Ukrainian as the State Language" not only violates Ukraine's international legal obligations and the rights of millions of its citizens, but also contravenes the Ukrainian Constitution.
The senators also deem it necessary to discuss the issue at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).