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RIA Novosti
Statement of Ukraine on the elimination of the Library of Ukrainian literature in Moscow are not true. This was stated by the official representative of Russian foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, commenting on the Ukrainian side raised at the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on 6 April in Vienna the question of the fate of this library.
“Made at the meeting approval of the closure of the library, about the alleged elimination of her book Fund are not true, she said. – A collection of the Library of Ukrainian literature is handed to the Centre of Slavic cultures, which was created in Moscow at the Library of foreign literature named. Rudomino. The process of transferring funds to the Center, which already operates successfully, will be completed tentatively in 2017. Anyone will be able to see the beautiful samples of Ukrainian literature, which are stored in Moscow.”
Zakharova recalled that on April 3, Ukraine’s foreign Ministry sent a note of protest to the foreign Ministry demanding Ukraine to transfer funds of the Moscow Library of Ukrainian literature. “Such claims are at least surprised,’ she said. – The library has never belonged to the Ukrainian side, it existed as an independent state institution of culture of Moscow, its work was financed from the city budget”.
“Ukraine claims look even more strange on the background of the Ukrainian authorities’ policy in relation to Russian – language printed products, – the diplomat noted. – Recently in Ukraine approved the order of seizure of the so-called “anti” literature and published a list of prohibited to import books. Even earlier, on 8 December 2016, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted legislative changes aimed at limiting, and in fact – the prohibition of access to the Ukrainian market of the Russian printed products.”
According to official representative of Russian foreign Ministry, “these and many other actions of the Ukrainian authorities say that this is a very hypocritical rhetoric, and all this protection is allegedly infringed the rights of the Ukrainian national minority – the same hypocrisy.” “On the territory of the Russian Federation, nothing and nobody prevents the development of cultural identity, she said. – It is precisely the opposite: what is happening today in Ukraine is an ongoing process of discrimination and the adoption of all the new discriminatory measures aimed at the forced Ukrainization of the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine. Kiev, pursuing this policy, further incites Russophobes and are actually committed to lead the process to eliminate anything that might remind the Ukrainian people about joint with the Russian people’s cultural and spiritual heritage”.