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US, Germany, UK, Poland block UN SC emergency session on Ukraine's language law

On April 25, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada adopted a draft law "On establishing Ukrainian as state language"

The United Nations headquarters in New York EPA/MATT CAMPBELL

The United Nations headquarters in New York

© EPA/MATT CAMPBELL

UNITED NATIONS, May 20. /TASS/. The United States, France, the United Kingdom, Poland, Belgium and Germany blocked the emergency session of the UN Security Council on Ukraine's law on the state language, Indonesia's Permanent Representative to the UN Dian Triansyah Djani said on Monday.

The emergency session was convened at Russia's request. China, South Africa, the Dominican Republic and Equatorial Guinea supported the emergency session.

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Djani said that five votes were cast in support of the session, six — against it, and four members abstained. He added that the agenda was not approved due to insufficient number of votes.

On April 25, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada adopted a draft law "On establishing Ukrainian as state language." On May 15, the law was signed by Ukraine's President Pyotr Poroshenko.

Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said Monday that Ukraine’s new law on the state language establishes what can be described as "language inquisition" in the country.

"Language inquisition is being established in Ukraine right in front of us," Nebenzya said at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. "Such steps are inadmissible in a country that declares its compliance with the high European standards," he stressed.

"We consider it necessary for the UN SC to give an assessment to this document [Ukraine's law on the state language] that directly violates the spirit and letter of the Minsk Agreements," Nebenzya noted. "We are talking about violations of UN Security Council decisions," he added.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine United Nations UN Security Council

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