Russia aims to "liberate Ukraine" and "protect" Russian-speaking citizens – Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed that Russia cannot allow the "rights of Russian-speaking citizens" in Ukraine to be restricted, particularly after any potential cessation of hostilities.
He made the statement on May 23 during a speech at the conference "Historic Southern Russian Lands: National Identity and Self-Determination of Peoples," as quoted by Russian media and reported by Censor.NET.
"In the territory of Ukraine that lies outside the constitutional borders of the Russian Federation, millions of people speak Russian — it is their native language. Leaving them under the rule of a junta that has even banned speaking Russian (though they haven’t yet banned thinking in it) would be a grave crime," Lavrov claimed.
According to the Russian minister, "if they (the Ukrainian authorities – ed.) expect that some kind of agreement will be reached to end the fighting, and that whatever remains of Ukraine will live under the laws they have adopted — that is an illusion, and such an outcome cannot be allowed under any circumstances."
"We cannot leave people under the rule of the regime currently in place there," Lavrov said.
He asserted that Russia would "definitely not allow this to happen" and would "protect Russian-speaking citizens."
"At this stage, the simplest and absolutely error-free effort toward a settlement is to demand the repeal of laws that directly violate the UN Charter — not to mention numerous conventions on the rights of national minorities," the Russian foreign minister added.
