Ukrainian foreign minister calls on OSCE to pay attention to persecution of national minorities in Russia

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on OSCE to pay attention to the persecution of national minorities in Russia during his talks with Ian Borg, Maltese Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, in Kyiv on 2 February.

Source: Kuleba at a briefing at the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, reported by European Pravda

Details: Kuleba stated that he raised the issue of protecting the rights of national minorities in Russia in discussions with his Maltese counterpart.

"It is not only about Ukrainian minorities. The recent events in Ufa, Bashkortostan, have once again shown that Russia, as said by the philosopher, is a prison of peoples. The Bashkirs stood up to defend an activist who is being tried by the Kremlin for his stance against the war and support of Bashkir culture and identity," Kuleba said.

This refers to the protests following the sentencing of Bashkir activist Fail Alsinov, which took place in January this year.

Kuleba stressed that Moscow is actively mobilising its national minorities to die in Ukraine, "and this pursues two goals: to continue the aggression and, in fact, to carry out ethnic cleansing on its own territory".

"The OSCE has tools to protect the rights of national minorities, including the institution of the High Commissioner on National Minorities. We believe that this issue should be addressed closely," Kuleba stressed.

Kuleba also reiterated the decree of the president of Ukraine "on the territories of the Russian Federation historically inhabited by Ukrainians", which refers to "both Ukrainians and other peoples enslaved by Russia".

Background: On 2 February, Maltese Foreign Minister Ian Borg, the chairman-in-office of OSCE until 2024, arrived in Ukraine for the first time since taking office and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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