The failure of the Budapest Memorandum left Ukraine defenseless against the nuclear threat.
Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk stated this at the Diplomacy 30 conference, PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Let me remind you that as of 1991, Ukraine had the third largest nuclear potential in the world. We voluntarily abandoned it and became a nuclear-free state, and today the Russian Federation, which, let me remind you, was the guarantor of such disarmament, hints that if we continue to continue our democratic development, it may even strike us with a nuclear strike. Not a single guarantee given to us by leading countries in 1996 works,” the speaker said.
“We found ourselves practically defenseless against the nuclear threat, and Ukraine became an example of humanity and self-sacrifice in the interests of other countries, which can be either rewarded or punished. Whether the guarantees in the Budapest Memorandum are a firm word from the leading nuclear states or idle talk depends on our joint work,” Stefanchuk said.
“I would like to emphasize that the words that were provided in the memorandum - to refrain from threatening force or use against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine - this obligation was already violated by the Russian Federation in 2014 and is being violated again in 2021. And some of the guarantor countries are only discussing the possible use of more severe economic sanctions,” the head of the Rada complained.
“It seems to me that diplomats must now remind us every day of strict adherence to the norms of international law, which has been formed over centuries, otherwise the existing system of collective security will be destroyed,” Stefanchuk added.