Failure to use the Budapest Memorandum in diplomacy with the US and Russia is a crime

The Budapest Memorandum is the only possible platform for negotiations with the US and Russia. It is a valid international treaty. Only it can guarantee the security and inviolability of Ukraine's borders and its territorial integrity.

The US leadership should be reminded that even under the general principles of Anglo-Saxon law, every service rendered is entitled to fair compensation and reimbursement (https://medium.com/@ihorsmeshkoua/on-the-matter-of-who-owes-whom-under-anglo-saxon-law-the-honor-of-the-state-is-the-foundation-d6c76de64172).

Any new international treaty signed without prior implementation of the Budapest Memorandum is an illusion and a profanity. How can one trust the signatories of new international treaties if previously signed ones are not implemented?

Failure to use the existing treaty on the diplomatic front to ensure Ukraine's security is not just negligence, but a crime against national interests.

The problem lies not in the text of this treaty, but in the lack of knowledge, experience and political will to defend Ukraine's national interests under it. If you have a Stradivarius violin and Mozart's compositions already written, it is not their fault that you cannot play the violin and do not know how to read music. The Budapest Memorandum is a tool. It is now up to the orchestra of all state institutions to use it professionally on all possible platforms of professional diplomacy.

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Ukrainian leadership has not complied with the Ukrainian Constitution and its legal obligation to ensure the security and defence of Ukraine through diplomatic means. When the terms of international treaties are violated, it is the party whose rights have been violated that must take the initiative to declare such a violation.

Our legitimate demands for the unconditional implementation of this agreement are supported by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969, the Helsinki Accords of 1975, Article 56 of the UN Charter, Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine 'On the Defence of Ukraine' and Article 85 of the Constitution of Ukraine.

By ignoring the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine is effectively playing into the hands of the Kremlin. The Kremlin pretends that this document has no legal force and thus evades responsibility for its aggression against Ukraine. At the same time, on the diplomatic front, the Kremlin is trying to completely remove the memorandum from the international agenda and avoid any discussion of its brutal violation of international law and its own previous commitments.



The current U.S. Secretary of State Mark Rubio, while still a senator, responded to Russia's annexation of Crimea in a speech to the U.S. Congress on March 25, 2014:

"When the Soviet Union fell in the early 1990s, Ukraine was left with the third largest stockpile of tactical nuclear weapons and strategic nuclear weapons on the planet. But they signed this agreement (the Budapest Memorandum) with the United States, the United Kingdom (UK) and Russia that basically said: if you give up your nuclear weapons, we, these three countries that signed this, will provide for your defense and assure you of your defense. And so Ukraine did that. They gave up these weapons. This was signed in 1994.

Twenty years later, one of the three countries that signed this agreement has not just provided for their defense, but they actually invaded them. And I want to make a point on this for a second. Think about it, if you're one of these other countries around the world right now that feels threatened by your neighbors, and the United States and the rest of the world are going to you saying, listen, don't develop nuclear weapons, we will protect you, we will make watch out for you. What kind of lesson do you think this instance sends to them? I think it sends a message to many countries around the world that perhaps we can no longer count on the security promises made by the free world..." (https://medium.com/@ihorsmeshkoua/a-full-scale-invasion-that-might-not-have-happened-or-a-peace-plan-not-only-for-ukraine-part-one-f9ad12610d8e).

Prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, U.S. senator, Ted Cruz, also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to provide military assistance to Ukraine in accordance with the Budapest Memorandum during a hearing in the U.S. Congress:

"I would note, you might ask, 'Why should America honor our commitments? Why should we honor our commitment in the Budapest Memorandum? Why should we honor our treaty commitments to the NATO countries?' Because one of the ways we protect American national security is when we make an agreement with a country, when we make a formal legal agreement, we honor our commitments. And we want countries to know that we stand by our friends, that we stand by our word, that our treaties mean something. Because if countries learned that under weak and feckless presidents, our treaties, our formal binding legal documents, aren't worth the paper they're written on, it undermines the ability of any president of the United States to negotiate agreements with our friends and allies that keep Americans safe" (https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sen-cruz-on-the-crisis-in-ukraine-president-biden-and-the-democrats-have-imperiled-ukraine-and-put-europe-on-the-brink-of-war) .

Finally, let us recall the words of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, during the visit of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma to the White House on 22 November 1994:

"Thanks to your vision and that of Ukrainian parliament, you are removing the threat of nuclear weapons and laying the groundwork for an era of peace with your neighbours. I salute the courage you have shown. America will stand with you to support your independence, your territorial integrity and your reforms. We are bound together by a dedication to peace and a devotion to freedom" (https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/ukrainian-president-arrival/47474).

Блог автора – матеріал, який відображає винятково точку зору автора. Текст блогу не претендує на об'єктивність та всебічність висвітлення теми, яка у ньому піднімається. Редакція "Української правди" не відповідає за достовірність та тлумачення наведеної інформації і виконує винятково роль носія. Точка зору редакції УП може не збігатися з точкою зору автора блогу.