MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. Russia will not let people in Ukraine live under the laws imposed by Vladimir Zelensky's junta, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.
"If the so-called government, which is basically Zelensky's junta, believes that somehow an agreement will be reached on the cessation of hostilities and what remains of Ukraine will continue to live according to the laws that they have enacted — this is an illusion, this cannot be allowed under any circumstances," Lavrov said while speaking at a high-level conference on the historical southern Russian lands.
According to Lavrov, it would be a crime to leave people in Ukraine under the authority of a Zelensky regime that bans the Russian language.
"Millions of people on the territory of Ukraine speak Russian. It is their mother-tongue, and leaving them under the rule of this junta, which has forbidden them to speak Russian, but thankfully not from thinking in it, would be a major crime," the Russian foreign minister continued.
"I do hope and I am sure that we [Russia] will not let this happen. I hope that the international community stands up against the abuse of the UN Charter, which states in its opening provision that it encourages respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all regardless of race, sex, language, or religion," Lavrov added.