Ukraine war: what is the Budapest Memorandum and why has Russia’s invasion torn it up? (March 2022)

The Conversation ^ | March 2nd 2022 | Unknown

[Jacquerie]

The unfolding invasion of Ukraine will have far-reaching repercussions that extend way beyond a breach of international law and a violation of the country’s territorial integrity. As American international relations expert David Yost notes, Russia’s actions will weaken the credibility of major power security assurances, undermine the nuclear nonproliferation regime and dampen prospects for future disarmament.

Putin’s decision to invade is in direct violation of the Budapest Memorandum, a key instrument assuring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The memorandum was struck in 1994, following lengthy and complicated negotiations involving the then Russian president Boris Yeltsin, Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, US president Bill Clinton and the then British prime minister John Major.

In exchange for giving up its nuclear arsenal, Ukraine initially sought legally binding guarantees from the US that it would intervene should Ukraine’s sovereignty be breached. But when it became clear that the US was not willing to go that far, Ukraine agreed to somewhat weaker – but nevertheless significant – politically binding security assurances to respect its independence and sovereignty which guaranteed its existing borders. China and France subsequently extended similar assurances to Ukraine, but did not sign the Budapest Memorandum.

[Jacquerie]

Russia broke its 1994 pledge to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty in 2014 when it annexed Crimea. Now it’s in breach again.

Ukraine should have kept its nuclear weapons.

The US screws any ally and ignores any treaty/agreement that negatively impacts democrats.

[silverleaf]

They were never Ukraine’s weapons.
They were weapons of the USSR.
Soviet weapons.
Russian forces controlled the units.
Moscow controlled the activation codes. Without which they were useless as weapon systems.
The West was relieved to get them out of corrupt Ukraine before they ended up on the Black market.

[C210N]

NATO broke its pledge to not encroach Russia.

The CIA broke all decency by installing 46 biolabs in Ukraine.

[McGruff]

It cost Ukraine Crimea and more.

[wildcard_redneck]

Blah, blah, more war, blah, blah, more war for the children!

[Firehath]

Ukraine chose fascist diversity

The world

Russia - Israel

doesn’t want dnc coexist communism

Blm hamas white slave tyranny too

[whitney69]

“The CIA broke all decency by installing 46 biolabs in Ukraine.”

You forgot to mention the prisons and the sites for nuclear testing. Why do you think uncle sugar is so interested in helping them? We’ve got a lot of hardware in there.

wy69

[Firehath]

What if Virginia

Wanted west Virginia back

Does that give commie liberals

The right to nuke ww3

Start the civil war

Hitler - Biden nato ww1 - ww2

All over again

[rxh4n1]

“The US screws any ally and ignores any treaty/agreement that negatively impacts democrats.”

Right, but they’ll faithfully follow any agreement or treaty that hurts the USA or favors the other side. Even when the other side broke it. See every arms control treaty.

[Kazan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2bwxzdoMuY

pdate on the conflict in Ukraine for December 17, 2023…

- Russian forces continue mounting pressure along the line of contact, executing a war of attrition grinding down Ukraine’s manpower and its Western sponsors’ military resources;

- Ukrainian lawmaker admits Ukraine is running out of ammunition and unable to respond to Russian firepower;

- The Western media now admits Ukraine’s cross-river “offensive” in Kherson is an abject failure;

- US military officials now admit that even with continued US support, Ukraine could still lose;

- A search for a “new” strategy for Ukraine requires ignoring the fundamental (and unsolvable) problems Ukraine and its Western backers have;

- The Western media is rebuilding its narrative regarding Ukraine, suggesting victory is not possible, but improving Ukraine's position ahead of negotiations may be;

- West is still pinning hope on "wonder weapons" including the F-16;

[Mariner]

“But when it became clear that the US was not willing to go that far, Ukraine agreed to somewhat weaker – but nevertheless significant – politically binding security assurances to respect its independence and sovereignty which guaranteed its existing borders. “

Stupid ass Ukrainian dead enders and their acolytes believe that.

However, a sincere Bill Clinton promise and signature is not worth the paper its printed on. As it would be with ANY POTUS promise/signature not submitted to the Senate and approved by 2/3 of them.

IT WAS NOT POLITICALLY BINDING AND IT WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT.

[kiryandil]

These facts will fall upon deaf ears - ears that have been filled with CIA propaganda from CNN and MSNBC.

[Ultra Sonic 007]

The Budapest Memorandum was not a legally binding treaty. Furthermore, Ukraine gave up the nuclear weapons it possessed in return for being recognized as a sovereign nation (which neither Russia nor the United States were willing to bend on); they tried to get guarantees of military assistance in a binding treaty to compensate for the loss of nuclear weapons (which their officials already admitted as being too costly to maintain), but no one was willing to grant that in terms of a legally-binding treaty.

Second, it's hard to talk about respecting Ukraine's sovereignty when the Obama Administration and those like John McCain fragrantly meddled in Ukraine before and during the Maidan Revolution.

Third, given that Ukraine's duly elected government was overthrown in the Maidan Revolution, one can make the argument that the Memorandum's provisions were no longer in effect (for what little they were worth in fact), as the government which had agreed to them was no longer in existence.

Lastly, the "Budapest Memorandum" would have been outranked and superseded by the actual provisions of the treaties known as Minsk I (signed in 2014) and Minsk II (signed in 2015).