UNITED NATIONS, May 20. /TASS/. The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Ukraine’s State Language Law on Monday, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky told TASS.
"We have called a Security Council meeting on Ukraine’s language law," he said. "We believe it runs counter to the spirit and letter of the Minsk Agreements approved by the Council," Polyansky said, adding that the meeting would be open for reporters.
A bill on Ukraine’s state language was approved by the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) on April 25 and signed into law by outgoing President Pyotr Poroshenko on May 15. The document stipulates that all Ukrainian citizens from now on are obliged to use the Ukrainian language in all areas of life. Special language inspectors will monitor compliance. They will be empowered to attend any state agency’s meetings, collect documents from public organizations and political parties for examination and issue fines.
However, Ukraine’s opposition forces said they would use mechanisms to abolish the law if it was signed. Member of the "Opposition Platform - For Life" party Nestor Shufrich said the opposition would file a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court, since the law was unconstitutional. Besides, an initiative was placed on a website for parliamentary petitions, which calls for suspending the Verkhovna Rada’s decision to approve the language bill. The initiative needs to gain at least 25,000 votes to be considered.