Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko has said that the problems surrounding the Library of Ukrainian Literature in Moscow have been resolved.
"In general, the situation has currently been resolved," he said in parliament on Feb.18.
Hryschenko said that the library currently had more than 25,000 books, 15,000 periodicals, and added that reader’s tickets earlier seized by Russian law enforcement bodies had been returned.
Ukraine has sent books to the library several times, including some from Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, he added.
Hryschenko recalled that the library was being financed by the Russian government, therefore, it was impossible to support the library from Ukraine’s state budget.
"Simultaneously, we are working to extend the opportunities of Ukraine’s cultural center, which is located on the Arbat, which has a library, and, thus, two libraries serving the Ukrainian people will operate in Moscow," he said.
Hryschenko also said that over 130 Ukrainian NGOs were operating in Russia, 15 Saturday and Sunday schools had been opened, and eight Ukrainian newspapers and magazines were being printed. In addition, there are five Ukrainian libraries, three museums, and Ukrainian TV channels are broadcast almost all over the country, he added.
On December 18, 2010, the Moscow city prosecutor’s office launched criminal proceedings in relation to the presence in the library in 2008-2010 of literature that incited ethnic enmity.
A study conducted by the Institute of Linguists of the Russian Academy of Sciences had declared that the publications incited national enmity and hatred.
