Russian-language scholars meet in Yalta.

SIMFEROPOL, March 20 (Itar-Tass) - The 10th International Forum of
Russian language scholars began its work in Yalta, the Crimea, on Friday.
The opening ceremony held at the Chekhov Theatre had been preceded by a
prayer led by Metropolitan Lazar for Simferopol and the Crimea.
Professor Vladimir Kazarin, the chairman of the organizing committee,
said in his speech that the annual forum of Russian language scholars was
positioning Ukraine primarily as a country where Russian is a native
language, where it's indigenous and where it feels at home.
Second, the forum draws together linguists not only from Belarus,
Russia and Ukraine but also scholars in Ukrainian, Polish, Bulgarian,
Czech, Serbian, Slovenian and Slovakian languages.
Guests from Germany, Turkey and China are attending the forum as
guests.
Vsevolod Loskutov, the minister-counsellor of the Russian embassy in
Ukraine, greeted the participants. He read out a message of greetings from
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The Russian foreign minister believes that the forum of Russian
language scholars will contribute to Russian-Ukrainian relations. He said
he was sure that the 10th international forum of Russian-language scholars
would become a major educational and cultural event for Ukraine, Russia
and many other countries.
"Today, there are real opportunities for deepening Russian-Ukrainian
humanitarian cooperation which strengthens an entire set of relations
between Russia and Ukraine," Lavrov said in his message.
He added that the forum's contribution to achieving that noble goal
was invaluable. The more so, that the forum is being held ahead of the
celebrations of the 65th anniversary of Victory over fascism.