Where is Ukraine's active diplomacy and why is there no Ukrainian peace plan on the negotiating table?

'You can do a lot with DIPLOMACY, but with diplomacy backed up by FORCE, you can get a lot more done' (Kofi Annan, 1938-2018).

On 20 November 2025, Ukraine received the Witkoff/Dmitriev peace plan. The Russian-American Peace Plan on the negotiating table as a basis for ending the war in the centre of Europe is, in fact, a verdict on Ukrainian DIPLOMACY for its incompetence, unprofessionalism, professional ignorance and cowardice.

This plan gave the aggressor, Russia, another information boost for diplomatic manoeuvres and bargaining with the world, with the aim of destroying the European Union, establishing Russian dominance in Europe, destroying Ukraine's statehood and finally reviving the Eurasian empire.

An alternative Ukrainian version of the Peace Plan, not only for Ukraine but for the whole world (https://blogs.pravda.com.ua/authors/smeshko/69248e0365d8b/), should have been on the negotiating table long ago, since 2014.

In the eleventh year of the war, our top military and political leadership must finally understand that Ukraine has only four elements of its OWN state POWER as allies: the economy, the army, diplomacy and information. All other states in the world, with their own national interests, care only about themselves – including our partners in Europe and the United States.

Europeans view Ukraine as a buffer and outpost in Europe to protect against Russia's imperial expansionism. The US views Ukraine as a bargaining chip in global negotiations with Russia to maintain its dominance not only in Europe but also in the Western Hemisphere and to contain the growing power of China.

The Budapest Memorandum, which has diplomatic and informational power, is the only possible platform for negotiations with the United States and the Russian Federation. As a valid international treaty, it already embodies the goodwill of the Ukrainian people and their contribution to global security. The elimination of the world's third most powerful nuclear arsenal gives Ukraine the full moral and legal right to compensation for the SERVICE it has already provided, primarily from Russia and the United States. The security of these countries has already been significantly strengthened de facto as a result of this elimination, as it has saved them trillions of dollars that would have had to be spent on defence against such an arsenal if Ukraine had retained it.

This is a valid international treaty. It already guarantees, de jure, the sovereignty, security, inviolability of borders and the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Any new treaty signed without implementing the Budapest Memorandum is an illusion of peace and a mockery of international law. How can we trust the signatories of new treaties if they do not comply with those they have already signed? The disregard of this treaty by Ukrainian diplomacy is not just negligence but a crime against the state, the people, and Ukraine's national interests.

The problem lies not in the text of this current agreement, but in the lack of knowledge, experience and political will to defend Ukraine's national interests under this treaty. If you have a Stradivarius violin and Mozart's sheet music in front of you, it is not Stradivarius' or Mozart's fault that you cannot play the violin or read music. The Budapest Memorandum is a tool. Next, it is up to the orchestra of all Ukrainian state institutions to use it professionally in all possible negotiating platforms, both in state and public diplomacy and in the information space of all countries of the world.

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine's leadership has not adhered to the Ukrainian Constitution and has not fulfilled its legal obligation to fully ensure Ukraine's security and defence through diplomatic means. If international treaties are violated, it is the party whose rights have been violated that must act as the INITIATOR OF STATEMENTS, OFFICIAL APPEALS and DIPLOMATIC NOTES regarding the FACTS of violations of the TREATY.

Our legitimate demands for the unconditional implementation of the Budapest Memorandum 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. We would like to remind our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security and Defence Council that the text of the Charter on Strategic Partnership with the United States also states that Ukraine and the United States of America "confirm the importance of the security assurances described in the Trilateral Statement by the Presidents of the U.S., Russian Federation and Ukraine of 14 January 1994, and the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances in connection with Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 5 December 1994" (paragraph 4 of the Preamble).

By ignoring the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine is effectively playing into the Kremlin's hands, which pretends that this treaty has no legal force for it and thus evades responsibility for its aggression against Ukraine (https://blogs.pravda.com.ua/authors/smeshko/68ff681c23932/). At the same time, on the diplomatic front, the Kremlin is trying to completely remove the topic of this memorandum from the international agenda and avoid any discussion of its gross violation of international law and its own previous commitments.

The facts of the absence of active and offensive Ukrainian diplomacy, unfortunately, are obvious:

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine apparently did not officially inform the President of Ukraine of the legally sound evidence of the Russian Federation's violation of its obligations under the Budapest Memorandum, as well as the content and legal consequences of such violations...;

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine did not submit official proposals to the President of Ukraine regarding the adoption of appropriate diplomatic demarches and effective measures in response to the Russian Federation's violation of the provisions of the Budapest Memorandum...;

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine apparently did not submit to the President of Ukraine any draft official diplomatic notes regarding the official convening of consultations between the signatory countries of the Budapest Memorandum and plans for media coverage of such a diplomatic move in the global media and in the societies of the signatory countries;

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also did not submit to the President of Ukraine proposals and an action plan for the signatories of the Budapest Memorandum to initiate appropriate actions in the UN Security Council in response to Russia's violation of the Budapest Memorandum..." (https://volianarodu.org.ua/uk/Pravo/Budapeshtskyy-Memorandum-mizhnarodnyy-dogovir-yakyy-pidlyagaye-vykonanniu-rishennya-sudu).

Since 2014, it has been essential to call things by their proper names. Disregarding the security guarantees enshrined in the Budapest Memorandum regarding Ukraine's territorial integrity and the inviolability of its borders constitutes a crime (https://blogs.pravda.com.ua/authors/smeshko/6899fefc8907f/).

The existing security guarantees are not empty 'promises.' These guarantees were provided by a valid international treaty, signed in full compliance with the provisions of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. There is simply no other international legal basis for signing any new treaties!

It is the party whose rights have been. violated – not the violators – that should demand the implementation of a binding international agreement. Anything else amounts to cowardice and to 'playing on the opponent's field' under the rules set by the perpetrators.

The 'cards' on the negotiating table on the Ukrainian side should be copies of official diplomatic notes from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on the convening of consultations with the guarantor countries, along with the official responses received. The official negotiations themselves should be conducted with the relevant official representatives of these countries, not with non-governmental, private intermediaries.

The Ukrainian delegation has long needed to include experienced, professional diplomats rather than 'effective managers'. Diplomacy is the science of the inevitable and the art of the possible, with the ability to create strategic connections in the right place at the right time. People who have devoted themselves to diplomacy study it and gain professional experience throughout their professional lives. It is impossible to become a diplomat 'off the street'.

The progress of these negotiations should be reported truthfully and with legal justification, primarily among the peoples of Western countries (https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BuBdx1Kh2/?mibextid=wwXIfr), (https://blogs.pravda.com.ua/authors/smeshko/689f2e50d1914/). Moreover, they should be covered together with the truth about the behaviour of their governments towards Ukraine and information about their practical steps or inaction to prevent the spread of World War III, which, de facto, has already begun in Europe (https://blogs.pravda.com.ua/authors/smeshko/689dc9671a3fd/), (https://blogs.pravda.com.ua/authors/smeshko/6815eb243fcc4/).

Finally, we must mobilise all the resources of the Ukrainian and European diaspora in the United States to disseminate information about US Law No. 115-44, which was adopted on 2 August 2017 under the title 'Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act'.

US President Donald Trump signed this law. According to Section 257 of this law, entitled 'Ukrainian Energy Security,' the US undertakes never to recognise Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea or the separation of any part of Ukraine's territory by military force. The US also undertakes to help Ukraine restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Not to mention that Ukrainian diplomacy has never played the 'China card' on its own since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Meanwhile, China has repeatedly and officially confirmed its commitments and guarantees of nuclear security to Ukraine, in accordance with the Budapest Memorandum.

The author's blog is a material that reflects the author's point of view solely. The text of the blog does not claim to be objective and comprehensive in covering the topic it raises. The editorial staff of the Ukrainska Pravda is not responsible for the accuracy and interpretation of the information provided and acts solely as a carrier. The views of the UP editorial staff may not coincide with those of the blog author.

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