West Should Stop Backing Neo-Nazism in Ukraine – Russian Ombudsman

Western countries, the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) should stop tolerating the rise of neo-Nazi ideology in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry's human rights ombudsman said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Kontantin Dolgov in an interview with RT on Wednesday said that ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a report entitled “Neo-Nazism – a dangerous threat to human rights, democracy and the rule of law.”

According to the official, the report aims to raise awareness of the rise of neo-Nazism and urges other countries to find ways to battle the trend.

“This report is just a milestone in the overall work that is being done, and not only by Russia but by other bodies including human rights groups and other public organizations. We hope that the report will be an additional factor in changing people’s perception of what’s going on,” Dolgov said.

Russia has repeatedly tried to draw international attention to the rise of far-right groups in Ukraine. Radical nationalist organizations, including the Right Sector paramilitary, played an important role in the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych last February, and are currently fighting against eastern Ukrainian pro-independence militias.

In December, 2014, Russia called on UN members to back its resolution against the glorification of Nazism. Ukraine, along with the United States and Canada, voted against the resolution.