The second President of Ukraine (1994-2004), Leonid Kuchma, has said he is sure there should be only one national language the country – the Ukrainian language.
"I was and I am [a supporter of the fact] that there should be one national language in Ukraine –Ukrainian, but the Russian language should not be a foreign one, this is the point," Kuchma told reporters in Simferopol, when asked to comment on the new draft law on languages which the Ukrainian parliament plans to consider.
Kuchma sad he has not read the draft law in full, but he noted that in order for other languages in Ukraine be protected it is necessary to "observe the European Charter on languages, and then everything will be all right."
When asked by reporters to comment on the state of freedom of speech in Ukraine, Kuchma noted that often this issue was used as a political football.
"Often this is just used as a tool in political fights – I mean all the talk about the freedom of speech," Kuchma said.
