ST. PETERSBURG, September 6. /TASS/. Russia has no intention of using force to solve the problem of protecting the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic countries and Ukraine. At the same time, it is actively promoting the Russian language abroad, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.

"We will not use such methods of using force here. That’s impossible. However, it is necessary to call [those responsible] to account, and we are doing that. We are doing that in the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the agencies that handle the ethnic minorities issue in the UN. We also do that in cooperation with our European counterparts, including the European Union as a supranational entity," he said.

According to Russia’s top diplomat, the Russian Foreign Ministry briefs EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borell on the issue on a regular basis. "We constantly brief him on those things that his employees had to keep a close eye on, which violate the ideals declared by the EU for those countries that would like to be the EU’s partners," he noted.

According to Lavrov, there are a few examples of restrictive policies towards the Russian language. "These are primarily the Baltic countries and Ukraine where an open war has been declared against the Russian language, against the Russian-language education in violation of numerous conventions on the rights of ethnic minorities. When it comes to Ukraine, it’s a blatant violation of the Ukrainian Constitution, in which guarantees for the Russian language and, in general, guarantees for the Russian-speaking minorities are enshrined," he stressed.

Russia’s top diplomat added that he raised the issue at meetings with his European counterparts. Work to promote the Russian language abroad is in progress. This is done through many channels, including the embassies, the Pushkin State Russian Language Institute and the Russkiy Mir foundation. A comprehensive state-run program to support the Russian language abroad is being prepared on instructions from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I am very much concerned about their (European counterparts’ - TASS) reaction based on double standards, rather, its absence. That will be a constant irritant in our relations. In broader terms, we are actively expanding the opportunities for Russian-language education. More than 15,000 scholarships are allocated annually, and plans are in store to increase their number to 20,000. <…> We see this problem and are dealing with it," he concluded.