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Lavrov advises West to read Ukrainian laws before talking about Kiev 'defending democracy'

The foreign minister mentioned "the laws that were adopted to ban the Russian language, education, everything Russian in general and to encourage the ideology and practice of Nazism"

MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov advised Western politicians to read the laws adopted in Ukraine before saying that Kiev was "defending democracy."

"When [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz, [German Foreign Minister Annalena] Baerbock, [European Commission President Ursula] von der Leyen, and [French President Emmanuel] Macron, say together: "We owe Ukraine support until victory, because Ukraine fights and dies for our, European, democratic values." - Have you no conscience? Read the laws that were adopted to ban the Russian language, education, everything Russian in general and to encourage the ideology and practice of Nazism, with battalions with swastikas and stripes from SS divisions marching around," he said at his annual news conference devoted to reviewing Moscow’s main foreign policy achievements in 2023.

"These are Europe’s values now, if you believe the statements of European politicians. We must fight this through official diplomacy, and through public, parliamentary diplomacy, and, I really hope, through the journalistic community," the minister added.

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Ukraine crisis Foreign policy Sergey Lavrov

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