“The issues of the Russian language and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are being discussed in the Ukraine talks,” – Lavrov said

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated that the issues of the Russian language and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) are being discussed in negotiations on Ukraine.

The Russian foreign minister said this during an interview.

According to him, Moscow’s representatives continue to insist on these points.

“In Israel, Arabic is not banned. In Palestine, and in Arab countries, Hebrew is not banned. Nowhere is a language banned. But in Ukraine it is— and not just any language, but the language of the indigenous people of these lands, an official language of the United Nations—it is banned. And if they want to enshrine precisely this regime (no matter on what territory) with security guarantees, that is unacceptable,” Lavrov said.

Earlier, Lavrov had said that the U.S. peace plan includes the need to ensure the rights of national minorities and religious freedoms in Ukraine.

The Financial Times previously reported that the U.S. plan предусматривает giving the Russian language official status in Ukraine and restoring the UOC.