Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press conference after the Normandy Four meeting in Paris stated that Ukrainian citizens were free to speak different languages, including Russian
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2019) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press conference after the Normandy Four meeting in Paris stated that Ukrainian citizens were free to speak different languages, including Russian.
The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, Germany met in Paris on Monday, and followed up with a press conference in the early hours of the following day. During the presser, Zelenskyy switched from speaking Ukrainian to Russian.
"I will respond as a Russian-speaking president of Ukraine, if possible ... We have people with decent education, they can speak both Russian and Ukrainian. I have already told the Russian president that this is not forbidden in Ukraine. And even now, to emphasize [my point], I can continue in Russian," Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukrainians were not bad at English either.
Monday's talks, dedicated to resolving the conflict in Donbas, resulted in the adoption of a joint communique that outlines the next steps in the peace process, including an "all for all" prisoner exchange, the implementation of the ceasefire by the end of the year, border control and the date for the next summit.
Zelenskyy has been known to speak Russian, even during his presidency, to the dismay of more nationalistic Ukrainians. To ensure the prevalence of Ukrainian in society, Zelenskyy 's predecessor Petro Poroshenko signed a law enshrining Ukrainian as a state language just before leaving office in mid-May. Under the law, Ukrainian is mandatory for state authorities and local governments, all educational institutions, hospitals and the service sector. The full switch to Ukrainian-language education is expected on September 1, 2020.
