Bangladesh, June 1 -- Russia has announced plans to take Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia before the United Nations' highest judicial body, accusing the three Baltic nations of systematically discriminating against their Russian-speaking populations. According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow is nearing the end of the pre-trial phase and is preparing to bring the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

The move marks the latest escalation in a long-running disagreement between Russia and the Baltic states over language rights, citizenship policies, and the status of ethnic Russians living in the region. Moscow argues that the governments of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have pursue...