MOSCOW, April 11. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry has urged Ukraine to immediately stop gross and massive human rights violations of the Russian-speaking population, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told ITAR-TASS on Friday.

The position of ethnic Russians in Ukraine is “a source of our serious concern.”

“They have been declared a non-indigenous people, a minority, aliens or occupiers. Such cliches issued at an official are inciting ethnic strife banned by the international human rights law and international treaties to which Ukraine is a signatory,” Gatilov stressed.

“We are calling on the Ukrainian side to immediately stop gross and massive human rights violations and get down to construction of a rule-of-law state based on genuine democratic standards and respect for the legitimate interests of all groups of population (in Ukraine),” the Russian diplomat stressed.