Russian parliament plans to discuss situation in Ukraine at closed session
Russian had the status of a regional language in 13 of Ukraine’s 27 regions
MOSCOW, February 26. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian State Duma Council will discuss lawmakers’ proposals to hold a special closed session on Ukraine, deputy speaker Aleksander Zhukov (United Russia) said on Wednesday.
Vladimir Fedotkin of the Communist Party said he “made a proposal to discuss the situation in Ukraine and its consequences with the involvement of the interior minister, the FSB director etc.”
“How many hundreds of thousands of Russians can die in Ukraine due to our sluggishness? Why do we refuse to discuss the situation in Ukraine today? Are we indifferent?” Fedotkin said.
Earlier, chairman of the Duma Committee for the CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Slutsky said the lower house was planning to discuss the situation in Ukraine at a special closed session.
“We must work out an adequate package of measures to allow families living in Ukraine to be with Russia and teach the Russian language to children if they want,” chairman of the Duma Committee for the CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Slutsky said.
“We should think that these measures won’t lead to an armed expansion in several Ukrainian regions,” he said.
On Tuesday, February 25, leader of the A Just Russia party Sergei Mironov asked State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin to hold debates on Ukraine with the participation of the ministers of foreign affairs and the interior, as well as the FSB (Federal Security Service).
Deputies of the Communist Party asked to devote a session to the situation in Ukraine. “What is happening in Ukraine? We, deputies, don’t know the situation and we’re trying to propose any measures,” deputy Vladimir Fedotkin said.
The International Council of Russian Compatriots has also voiced protest due the actions taken by Ukrainian “coupists”, who cancelled the law “On the Principles of State Language Policy”.
Earlier Russia’s human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin called in question the Ukrainian parliament’s right to cancel the status of the Russian language in regions.