Ukraine's parliament adopts bill on Russian language status

"Before adopting it, we promise to organise a national discussion," he said. "Should it be necessary, we are ready to mind suggestions and addendums to every paragraph and then to discuss the bill by paragraphs."

The depouty said the bill "does not influence in any way" the use of the country's state language - the Ukrainian language.

On Tuesday, Ukraine's parliament adopted in the first hearing the bill on the bases of the state language policy, where the Russian language is granted a status of a regional one in 13 out of 27 regions of the country. The document was supported by 234 deputies, where 226 votes were necessary for adopting the bill.

The bill stipulates the Ukrainian language remains to be the only state language, but expands rights of languages of national minorities. The document reads that in the region with over 10 percent national minority residents the language of the national minority receives a special status.