Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged not to politicize the issue of protecting the rights of national minorities, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) reports.

It is reported that Kuleba made the corresponding statement during a telephone conversation with the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov.

"Dmytro Kuleba assured that Ukraine considers the diversity of national minorities as its peculiarity and national wealth, intends to continue to give priority attention to the preservation and development of the national identity of minorities in accordance with its international commitments," the statement released on Tuesday said.

The minister said that the topic of protecting the rights of national minorities should not be a subject of politicization. The Commissioner agreed with this approach of the minister, the need to depoliticize and prevent an excessive international context in the issue of national minorities.

In addition, Kuleba announced the development of new legislation in the field of national minorities by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which should meet modern international standards in this area. At the same time, he assured that Ukraine "will not allow any foreign state to influence its content in any way."

"The goal is for representatives of national minorities to be able to maintain and develop their identity 100% and at the same time be 100% citizens of Ukraine," Kuleba said.

The Foreign Minister also expressed confidence that the recently appointed Kairat Abdrakhmanov would be able to improve the effectiveness of the OSCE's response to serious challenges in the field of respecting the rights of national minorities, in particular in Crimea temporarily occupied by Russia and certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.