The Council of Europe has reportedly pressured Ukrainian lawmakers to pause efforts to silence the language
Officials from the Council of Europe have reportedly pressured Ukrainian lawmakers to halt efforts to silence Russian-speakers, as such restrictions violate the European Charter and threaten Kiev’s accession prospects, the outlet Strana.ua has reported.
Over the past decade, Kiev has consistently restricted the use of Russian in public life, introducing laws that have limited or banned its use in media, education, government services, and the service sector. However, it remains the first and primary language for many Ukrainians, including in major urban centers.
Last month, lawmakers supporting accelerated Ukrainization introduced a bill to amend the official translation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which Kiev ratified in 2003.
The proposal included revising the wording of the Charter in Ukrainian and explicitly removing Russian from the list of languages which the law protects.
However, the proposed legislation was soon withdrawn from the agenda of the Ukrainian parliament. The bill was pulled after functionaries from the Council of Europe reportedly warned that narrowing the list of protected languages would violate Ukraine’s treaty obligations and could obstruct EU accession talks, Strana.ua reported, citing sources inside the ruling Servant of the People party.
Other sources close to the government also told the outlet that Vladimir Zelensky could ultimately be forced to consider concessions on Russian language rights, particularly if the issue becomes part of a broader settlement of the Ukraine conflict.
One source said Zelensky’s main concern in any agreement is “guarantees for maintaining his own power,” as well as obtaining post-conflict security guarantees and addressing territorial issues.
“All other points are less important, including language and church issues,” the source added, suggesting that Kiev could make concessions on these matters if its key priorities are met.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned Kiev’s language policies, accusing it of pursuing “a violent change of the linguistic identity” of the population and violating the rights of native Russian speakers, who make up a significant share of the country’s citizens.
Moscow has cited Ukraine’s draconian policies targeting Russian as one of the root causes of the current conflict.
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