Russian Language Doesn’t Meet Ukrainian Interests

DONETSK, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko thinks that the Russian language does not meet the interests of Ukraine.


The March 6 decision of the Kharkov city council, which gave the regional status to the Russian language, “does not meet the Ukrainian interests either,” he told a Friday press conference in Kharkov.

The state language policy of Ukraine has never been targeted for the suppression of another language, Yushchenko said. He also said that he had never received language complaints from citizens.

The Kharkov city council should have been more careful about the language issue, Yushchenko said. “I do not welcome such steps, although it is up to court to give a legal assessment,” he noted.

More than a half of Ukrainian citizens want the Russian and Ukrainian languages to be equal.

The overwhelming majority of respondents in a Ukrainian SMS referendum voted for the Russian language.

Nearly 315,000 people took part in the two-month poll, said action organizers and members of the Party of Regions youth organization. A total of 81.55% voted for the state status of the Russian language, and 18.45% said the opposite.

The action organizers said that the state status of the Russian language is truly a concern of Ukrainian citizens no matter what certain political forces say.

The organizers thanked everyone for taking part in the referendum and said that they expect it to become an important step towards the state status of Russian in Ukraine and help the legalization of polls held through mobile phones.

Source: ITAR-Tass