MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/. Experts of the Council of Europe have failed to provide an objective assessment of Russia’s adherence to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Monday.

"We have noted that several media outlets have published materials concerning the opinion of the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities within the fourth cycle of monitoring (2012-2014)," the ministry stated. "This document has caused serious criticism and objections from the side of Russia’s competent ministries and institutions, as it provides a non-objective assessment of the current situation concerning national minorities in Russia. Russia’s commentary has been published alongside the aforementioned opinion."

The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that the publication of this report "is not a final assessment of the status of national minorities in Russia, as the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers is expected to prepare and confirm a corresponding resolution with recommendations."

"We hope that Russia’s commentary will be included in the final version of the report, and that [the final version] will disavow politicized approaches and estimations," the Russian Foreign Ministry added.