YALTA, June 6. /TASS/. Attempts to force the Russian language out of some of the former Soviet states cause concern, Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said addressing the Third International Livadia Forum.

According to her, the Russian language has been facing serious difficulties caused by a number of reasons. "Among them are attempts to force the Russian language from schools and universities in the former Soviet states, as well as a discrimination policy adopted by some countries who impose restrictions on the use of Russian in politics, business and the media sphere," Matviyenko added.

The Russian senate speaker also said that all this was a cause for legitimate concern, as the number of Russian-speaking people in the world had significantly declined since the end of the 20th century. In Matviyenko’s opinion, this trend needs to be overcome. "We should make painstaking efforts to revive the interest in the Russian language on the global level," she said.

The efforts should include, first and foremost, setting up programs aimed at encouraging foreigners to study Russian, she added. According to Matviyenko, programs aimed at methodological assistance for Russian language teachers need to be developed, as well as interactive education programs prompting the youth to study Russian.

The Livadia Forum, timed to mark the Russian Language Day and the Pushkin Day in Russia, is the successor to the Russian-Ukrainian Interaction forum held until 2013. It is an open public and political platform aimed at discussing the issues that the Russian World is beset with.

Crimea’s Livadia Palace and the Vorontsov palace, located in the Alupka Palace and Park Museum Preserve, usually host the forum.