Ethnic Russians from three countries speak about their problems at regional conference in Chisinau

Ethnic Russians from three countries - Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus – came together at a regional conference in Chisinau on Wednesday to discuss the problems they face and to ask the authorities of the three states to observe their right to communicate and study in the mother tongue. They asked the Russian Federation to grant them citizenship in preferential conditions, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The non-observance of the legal and socio-economic rights of the Russians in these countries remains an acute problem,” said Valery Kuzmin, Russian Ambassador to Moldova. The diplomat added that despite insistent requests from the Russian community in Moldova, the Russian language has not been legalized. “We should not give in to someone’s intentions to intervene in the internal affairs of these states,” Valery Kuzmin said, referring to the events that took place in Chisinau after April 5. “The Russian community wants that Moldova keeps its statehood, proved wisdom and did not take part in the acts of vandalism in downtown Chisinau,” the Russian Ambassador said. “I think that this fact should be taken into account by the Moldovan authorities.” Senior priest Nicolai Florinskii, president of the Council of the Russian Community in Moldova, reiterated the Russian ethnics’ wish to obtain easier Russian nationality. “After a tense period in the Moldovan-Russian relations, we now see that they started to develop and this gladdens us because Russia was and is Moldova’s closest friend,” the priest said. Victor Sebeliov, representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, considers that the 30 million Russians that live outside Russia must show more solidarity. “The once paternal character of Russia should be changed into partnership. Now we are at the beginning of this process,” the Russian official said. The representatives of the Russian communities in Ukraine and Belarus complained that their right to study in the native language is restricted. “This right in Moldova is observed the best,” said Olga Gonciarova, director of the Interethnic Relations Office in Chisinau. The first conference of the kind was held in Kiev. Last year, it took place in Minsk. The problems and proposals discussed at the conference will be debated at the third World Congress of Ethnic Russians set to take place in Moscow in December.