Ukraine will return Ukrainian names of foreign cities to official use, - Sybiha
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, has announced the state's intention to actively introduce foreign place names into official use.
The minister wrote about this on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.
"Recently, a note from a foreign state was brought to my desk, in which it addressed us on a certain issue. I started reading the text until I reached the word "Kiev". I didn't read any further. He ordered: "Return without consideration and no longer accept." First, it is necessary to learn the spelling of the names of Ukrainian cities, and then "renew assurances of deep respect," the foreign minister said.
He noted that the use of the names of Ukrainian cities should correspond to the Ukrainian transliteration: Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Chornobyl.
According to the minister, Ukraine has already made significant progress in the fight for the correct spelling of its place names in the world. Leading international media, governments and organizations have joined this process.
The Foreign Minister emphasized that it was time to take the "next big step" - to restore the traditional Ukrainian names of foreign cities in Ukraine: Berestia instead of Brest, Bilhorod instead of Belgorod, Dobrochyn instead of Debrecen, etc.
"The use of Ukrainian names is our sovereign national right, which is also in line with the current legislation. Part 3 of Article 41 of the Law "On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language" directly provides for the preference of Ukrainian names over foreign place names," the minister reminded.
Sybiha said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine plans to initiate a professional discussion, public debate and interagency work to systematize the use of Ukrainian names of foreign place names.
"Both in the case of correcting the incorrect use of our cities' names by foreigners and in the case of switching to Ukrainian names of foreign place names, it is primarily about respect. More precisely, our self-respect as a state. Others will respect us only if we respect ourselves," the minister summarized.
