Mr Anatoly Zlenko

Minister for Foreign Affairs

252018 KIEV

Ukraine

The Hague 15 May 1994

Reference : No 2415/94/L

OSCE Ref. Com no. 23

Dear Mr Minister,

May I first of all express my sincere thanks to you and to your government for the assistance which was provided to me during my visits to various parts of Ukraine and to Kiev. This generosity greatly facilitated my task.

I consider it as a very positive aspect of the present situation in Ukraine that there are presently no significant ethnic tensions between Ukrainians and Russians. Another positive element is that the Ukrainian legislation concerning minority questions complies, in general, fully with the international obligations Ukraine has entered into.

On the other hand, your government is faced with a number of demands from regions where Russians constitute a strong minority, such as the eastern Ukrainian oblasts, or constitute a majority, as in Crimea. Failure to find mutually acceptable solutions for these questions might have a negative effect on inter-ethnic relations.

As I found during my visit to Donetsk, the language question is clearly a sensitive issue in this region. In my view, it is fully understandable that, after such a long period of neglect, a special effort is being made to restore the Ukrainian language to its rightful place, and that Ukrainian is now one of the compulsory subjects in the curriculum of Russian schools. It is thus possible to create a steady increase of the knowledge of the Ukrainian language without in any way curtailing the position of Russian schools and the position of Russian as the language of education in these schools. Even though present Ukrainian legislation does not provide grounds for such fear, it would seem advisable, however, to make it clear to the Russian population in the east that for those who have not had the opportunity to learn the Ukrainian language in the schools, this will have no negative consequences for their job opportunities, and that there are no reasons for them to fear a process of forced Ukrainisation.

In the consultative poll coinciding with the recent parliamentary elections in the Donetsk Oblast about 89% of the population pronounced itself in favour of Russian as an official language in their region. As more than 70% of the population participated in the poll and the percentage of the voters favouring such a step exceeds the percentage of persons of Russian origin in this region, it must be assumed that apart from the Russian population a considerable group of Ukrainians voted in favour of such a step. Article 8 of the Law on National Minorities states: "In the work of state organs, public organisations, enterprises and institutions situated in places where the majority of the population constitutes a national minority, its language can be used alongside the Ukrainian language." It seems to me that the scope of this article could be widened somewhat more, for instance, by allowing the same formula in places where the national minority constitutes a substantial part of the population without necessarily reaching the level of 50%.

Unfortunately, considerable differences have arisen between the Ukrainian government and the Crimean administration. They will not be easy to solve, but in my view they are certainly not unsolvable.

In the Trilateral Agreement between Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the United States concluded in February of this year, the parties reaffirm their commitment, in accordance with the CSCE Final Act, to respect the independence and the sovereignty and the existing borders of the CSCE member states, and recognise that border changes can be made only by peaceful and consensual means. In my view this text is highly relevant in considering the problem of Crimea, even more so because as far as I am aware no CSCE state has expressed opinions deviating from it.

On the other hand, it is also of great importance that President Kravchuk has repeatedly expressed the view that the autonomous Republic of Crimea ought to have considerable latitude in the economic field. For instance, in the spring of 1992, he expressed his willingness to leave to Crimea the control of all "territorial property" on the peninsula. He also stated that Crimea ought to have "all the necessary political and legal opportunities to realise its special potential".

It is my view that the present difficulties between the central government and the Crimean administration could be resolved if a settlement could be reached, which would, on the one hand, reaffirm the need to maintain the territorial integrity of Ukraine but which, on the other hand, would contain a complete programme of steps to solve various issues concerning the implementation of the formula of substantial autonomy for Crimea, especially in the economic field. Urgent action is required, also in order to ensure that the differences between the central government and the Crimean administration will not lead to ethnic discord. Considering the extremely complicated and delicate issues involved, I suggest that your government explores the possibility of the CSCE providing assistance, for instance in the form of a team of constitutional and economic experts who could, after investigation of the issues in dispute, provide some suggestions for solutions. The experts could also give their advice on the question to what degree the demands for greater economic latitude expressed by some oblasts in eastern Ukraine could be met.

I am aware that your government is making efforts to contribute to the solution of the problem of the resettlement of the Tatars in Crimea. The difficult economic situation has, however, put limits to the scope of your efforts. It is my view, which I shall also express when I report to CSCE organs on my mission, that there is a clear need for international assistance. The way funds made available for this purpose would have to be spent ought to be the subject of consultation with the Tatars.

It is important that Tatar representatives have been allotted 14 seats in the present Crimean parliament. It is, however, necessary to ensure that this arrangement will be continued when the new parliament is elected. Furthermore, it is essential, in order to avoid potentially dangerous tensions, that an institutionalised dialogue be established between the Crimean government and the Tatars.

I hope, Mr Minister, that the suggestions and recommendations I have made in this letter can have the approval of your government. I look forward with great interest to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Max van der Stoel

CSCE High Commissioner

on National Minorities