© Pavel Bednyakov/SputnikRussian President Vladimir Putin
Immigrants who come to work and live in Russia must comply with its laws and respect its customs and traditions, including learning the language, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
Putin addressed the issue at a meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, traditionally held in early December.
"We need to attract such labor resources that meet the interests of the Russian economy. This means that [these] people must be prepared from a linguistic, ethnocultural point of view. They must know our traditions and so on.Russia is opening schools in several countries of the former Soviet Union - part of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to assist with Russian language instruction and cultural events, the president informed the council.
"The interest of Russia and its citizens 'must be put first'. All immigrants and visitors also must comply with Russian laws. And, of course, we, as a civilized country, must also ensure their rights."
Comment: Israel and the US are not members of the ICC, thus power to hold them to account from this vehicle is virtually non-existent. Israel has been a prime topic for decades. The Hague is a different story.