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French MP exposes EU’s fixation on Crimean Tatars as double standards

A French lawmaler notes that Europeans are completely ignoring the situation with minorities in the Baltic countries while paying close attention to the rights of the Crimean Tatar

Celebrations of Hidirellez, the Crimean Tatar holiday of spring Alexei Pavlishak/TASS

Celebrations of Hidirellez, the Crimean Tatar holiday of spring

© Alexei Pavlishak/TASS

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Diplomat says Euronews politically biased in covering Crimean Tatars deportation in 1944

MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. Europe’s preoccupation with the Crimean Tatars, while disregarding discrimination faced by the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic States testifies to the double standards surrounding its national minority policies, French National Assembly member and co-chairman of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association, Thierry Mariani, said on Thursday.

"During our visit to Crimea we wanted to examine the issues regarding the Crimean Tatar minority…," he said after meeting with speaker of Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) Sergei Naryshkin. "When we see that Europeans are completely ignoring the situation with minorities in the Baltic countries while paying close attention to the rights of the Crimean Tatar minority, we can see the manifestation of double standards very clearly."

Mariani noted that over the past two years, the Crimean Tatars have been granted significantly new cultural and language rights. "We would like to see similar rights given to the Russian-speaking population, for example, in Latvia," he added.

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