Ukraine today criticized the agreement concluded 30 years ago, under which it gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for guarantees for its security, which never materialized, notes Reuters.
Kyiv insists on strong guarantees to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression. But the return of Republican Donald Trump to the White House raises concerns that a hasty negotiation of an end to the war will expose Ukraine to risks.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry refers to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, under which Kiev gave up its nuclear arsenal - the world's third largest at the time - in exchange for assurances that it would receive security guarantees , including from Russia after the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
"Today, the Budapest Memorandum is a monument to short-sightedness in strategic security decision-making," said a ministry statement released on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Memorandum on December 5, 1994.
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The statement added that "The memorandum should serve as a reminder to the current leaders of the Euro-Atlantic community that building a European security architecture to the detriment of Ukraine's interests instead of taking them into account is doomed to failure" .
Since 2014 Ukraine criticizes the Memorandum signed 30 years ago, which means that its criticisms were made well before the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory, which began in February 2022.
In 2014 Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. Fighting in the Ukrainian East followed, in which thousands of people died. A cease-fire ensued, which was by no means easily achieved. Then came dozens of rounds of negotiations within the framework of the Minsk Agreements process.
After almost three years of full-scale war, Kiev has now ruled out any prospect of a return to such talks, which could lead to a temporary ceasefire but carry the risk of another Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory.
"Enough with the Budapest Memorandum. Enough with the Minsk Agreements. Twice is enough, we cannot fall into the same trap. We simply do not have the right to allow this," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Kiev wants NATO members to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance at the meeting of foreign ministers of the member countries starting today.
In a statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the US and Great Britain, which are also signatories of the Budapest Memorandum along with France and China, are called upon to support the provision of security guarantees to Ukraine.
"We are convinced that the only real guarantee of security for Ukraine, as well as a means of dissuading future Russian aggression against Ukraine and other countries, is Ukraine's full membership in NATO," says the foreign ministry.
Russia views the idea of Ukraine's integration into NATO as an unacceptable threat to its security.