Russia should allow for all possible social-political ramifications if it ratifies the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML), a top monitoring official said on Wednesday.
The ECRML was adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote regional and minority languages across Europe.
It has so far been ratified by 24 countries, including Ukraine and Armenia. Russia agreed to ratify the Charter when it joined the Council of Europe in 1996 but has so far neglected to do so.
"In the event of the ratification of the Charter it is necessary to take into account a number of factors," said Alexander Sokolov, foreign affairs chief of the Public Chamber, Russia's state monitoring body.
"I have agreed with my colleagues from the State Duma [the lower house of the Russian parliament] that we will divide the study of the Charter into two parts: judicial and content-related," he went on.
"The Public Chamber to a larger extent deals with the study of social-political risks in the event of the Charter's ratification," he added.
Sokolov advised the State Duma, which will consider the ratification of the Charter in October, to look into the possible ramifications of such a move, namely those for Russia's regional minorities.
"This is not a case when behind-the-scenes decisions within the government or State Duma may be made. We are interested in [holding] public hearings on the Charter ratification issue," said Aleksei Zenko, deputy director of the interethnic relations department at the Regional Development Ministry.
MOSCOW, June 16 (RIA Novosti)
