GENEVA, March 03. /ITAR-TASS/. New Ukrainian power intends to enjoy the fruits of its victory to attack human rights and freedoms, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.

“The Verkhovna Rada approved decisions, which restricted the rights of ethnic minorities, dismissed judges of the Constitutional Court and demanded criminal proceedings be instituted against them,” Lavrov said.

“Demands are made to impose restrictions on the Russian language, ban undesirable political parties and conduct lustration. Thus, ‘winners’ intend to attack human rights and freedoms,” the Russian minister said.

“These deeds aroused indignation in eastern and southern regions of Ukraine and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea where millions of Russians live,” he said. “Amidst permanent threats by ultra-nationalists, self-defense units have been created. They are to prevent the attempts to seize administrative buildings by force in the Crimea and deliver weapons and ammunition to the peninsula.”

“We have received information on new provocations, including against the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the territory of Ukraine,” Lavrov said.

 

Agreement not fulfilled

Ukraine’s opposition has fulfilled no provision of the agreement on crisis settlement, signed on February 21, Lavrov said on Monday.

“On February 21, almost after three months of riots and chaos, the Ukrainian president and the opposition concluded the deal, which was also signed by foreign ministers of Germany, Poland and France,” he said.

“The authorities had not introduced a state of emergency and had taken police units from streets,” Lavrov said. “The opposition, however, has fulfilled nothing. Illegal weapons have not been handed in, administrative buildings and streets in Kiev have not been fully freed, and radicals continue to control the capital.”

“Instead of promises to create a government of national unity, “the government of winners” has been formed,” Lavrov added.

 

Internal crises overcome by dialogue

“Any internal crises should be overcome by dialogue of all political forces, ethnic and confessional groups, in compliance with international obligations, first of all the obligations on international humanitarian law, the protection of human rights and ethnic minorities rights,” Lavrov said at the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

“It is very important to dissociate oneself from extremists, who are trying to take control over the situation by illegal means - by escalating violence and committing terrorist acts,” the Russian minister said.

Human rights are a very serious problem “to make it a bargaining chip in geopolitical games and use it to impose one’s will on others, moreover to conduct operations on changing regimes”, he said.

“Experience proves that the use of force under the pretext of protecting peaceful civilians is counterproductive and increases the sufferings of the population by depriving them of the fundamental right - the right to life,” Lavrov said.

“The above-mentioned approaches towards settling internal conflicts are applicable to Syria, Ukraine and other any country,” he said.