Photo credit: Vitold Muratov / ru.wikipedia.org (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Moscow called on Hungary, which took over as head of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CE), and other structures of the international organization to pay attention to discrimination against the Russian and Russian-speaking population, the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry reports. According to Russian diplomats, this has already become a systemic policy pursued by the Ukrainian authorities and the leadership of the Baltic republics. In addition, it is time to stop pretending that Europe does not notice the harassment of the media in these countries, according to the department.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the situation in Ukraine a "shame" for the European continent. According to her, ''blatant nationalism'' is flourishing there, and this is a problem for Europe, a shame for all international structures, to which Ukraine is a member.
The Russian Foreign Ministry welcomed Budapest's desire to re-start organizing forums every year aimed at strengthening dialogue between different confessions. The Russian Foreign Ministry is confident that such a dialogue is one of the pillars of interethnic harmony, global and regional stability.
Moscow also added that they support the desire of the chairmanship to place special emphasis on the protection of family values.
The diplomats noted that Hungary faces a very difficult time. Increasingly, the Council of Europe finds itself hostage to the course of individual countries directed against Russia. The current situation in the Council of Europe does not contribute to the achievement of its main statutory goal - strengthening the unity between the member states, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. And here the Budapest Declaration, which calls for the use of the potential of the Council of Europe for the construction of a "Greater Europe" without dividing lines, has still not lost its significance.
The decision of Budapest to give priority attention to the rights of national minorities seems justified, the Foreign Ministry added.
Russkiy Mir
