MOSCOW - State Duma deputy Irina Yarovaya (United Russia faction) has hailed the adoption by the Ukrainian parliament of the law on the foundations of state language policy, United Russia reported on its Web site.
“The Russian language is the native language of many citizens of
Ukraine, I would even say for the entire Ukraine. The adoption of the
law on the foundations of language policy is a big step in the direction
of common sense, which, by the way, has not prevailed in everyone,” the
United Russia Web site quoted Yarovaya as saying.
The parliamentarian believes the purpose of the bill is to enable
people who think and speak in their native language to realize
themselves.
“The rights of speakers of languages other than the state language
should not be restricted in Ukraine. We consider the people of Ukraine
brothers and we have historical, cultural, and family ties. We are
certainly interested in respect for the Russian language, which is the
native language for thousands of families living in Ukraine, which will
promote the friendship and openness that have developed between our
countries and our people over the centuries,” Yarovaya said.
According to earlier reports, the Ukrainian parliament passed the law
on the foundations of state language policy, which considerably expands
the use of the Russian language, on Tuesday.
The parliamentary opposition says the law was passed with many violations.
Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn and his deputy Mykola
Tomenko announced that they had made a decision to resign from their
posts on Wednesday.
The Berkut special task police and protesters against the law clashed in Kyiv on Tuesday and Wednesday.
