MOSCOW, February 26. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has urged the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to condemn growing nationalist sentiment in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported after Lavrov’s meeting with OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier.

“The Russian side noted that it was necessary to return to the legal framework, and that the international community should assess the situation objectively and impartially,” the Foreign Ministry added. “It was emphasized that any forms of assistance, including from OSCE, should be conducted only by request of Ukraine’s legitimate authorities and with respect to the country’s sovereignty.”

Lavrov urged OSCE to “resolutely condemn the development of nationalist and neo-Fascist tendencies in the west of Ukraine, nationalists’ demands to ban the Russian language, turn all Russian-speaking residents into “non-citizens”, limit the freedom of expression and shut down all inconvenient political parties.”