KIEV, September 24 (Itar-Tass) —— Ukraine’s parliamentary deputy representing the ruling Party of Regions, Alexander Chernomorov, has registered with the Verkhovna Rada a bill on granting to Russian the status of the second state language, the parliament’s office reported on Monday.
The document suggests changes to the law on the state language politics. The deputy suggests allowing the citizens free use of the Russian language as a language of a native ethnic group of Ukraine, a language of international communication, and in regions of compact residence of people for who the Russian language is native – functioning of the Russian language along with the state one. The bill suggests organisation in the country of “conditions for granting to the Russian language, which is native for a big part of Ukraine’s residents, of a legal status, equal to the one, which the Ukrainian language is using.”
On July 3, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on state language politics. The law allows use of the Russian language in official communication in the regions, where at least ten percent residents are speaking it. The law retained the constitutional state status for the Ukrainian language. At the same time, it guarantees in the territory of Ukraine a free use of regional languages.
The parliament’s speaker, Vladimir Litvin, said the law on the state language politics in Ukraine would be revised after the parliamentary elections due on October 28. “We have organised a working group on drafting addendums to the law. Thus, I believe, we shall consider making addendums to the law on the language politics,” Litvin said.