Ukraine's acting president and interim prime minister have offered some of their strongest pledges to strengthen constitutional rights to use the Russian language, in a bid to defuse the crisis in the country's east.
In a joint TV address, acting President Oleksander Turchinov and interim Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk both called for national unity, and urged people to refrain from violence. They promised they would support constitutional change, decentralising more power to local councils. This included for local councils to decide their official languages, which is a key demand of Russian-speakers. interim Prime Minister Yatseniuk said the Russian language will have special status in an amended constitution.
