On the eve of talks with the United States, Lavrov mentions the language and faith issues once again
As reported by Radio Liberty, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation said this at a press conference on February 17, on the eve of talks with the United States in Saudi Arabia.
“Still, when talking about serious diplomacy, it is better to first understand the history of the issue, to see why the Russian language is banned in all spheres of life in Ukraine, why the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church is banned there, which is a gross violation of numerous conventions and Article One of the UN Charter. We also must understand why none of the numerous initiatives that have been launched so far from different parts of the world mentions these human rights enshrined in the UN Charter, saying only that territorial rights must be respected,” Lavrov said.
Even before the US presidential election in September 2024, Lavrov expressed his wish that Trump would “repeal” the law on the Ukrainian language and the ban on the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
In December 2024, Lavrov stated that peace in Ukraine is possible only if Ukraine renounces NATO membership and loses some of its territories. At the time, Lavrov emphasized that Russia could not tolerate “Ukrainian legislation prohibiting the Russian language, Russian media, Russian culture, while the Ukrainian Orthodox Church remains in place.”
On Monday, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine has not been invited to participate in the talks between the US and Russia scheduled for February 18 in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.
“Ukraine will not participate. Ukraine knew nothing about it. Ukraine regards any negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine as fruitless, and we cannot recognize... any agreements made about us without us,” Zelensky said.
In early February, Ukrainian officials and human rights activists told the United States about the violation of the rights of believers of various denominations, except for the UOC-MP, in the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russian aggressors, about hundreds of churches destroyed as a result of their shelling, including most of the UOC-MP, which they “protect.”
