Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Ukraine on Tuesday criticised the Budapest memorandum struck three decades ago under which it gave up its third largest nuclear arsenal for security assurances that never materialised.
“Enough of the Budapest Memorandum. Enough of the Minsk Agreements. Twice is enough, we cannot fall into the same trap a third time. We simply have no right to do so,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said.
The 1994 Budapest memorandum saw Kyiv give up its nuclear arsenal in return for security assurances, including from Russia, after the 1991 Soviet breakup. Ukraine has denounced the memorandum since 2014, long before the 2022 invasion, when Russian troops seized and annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula before backing paramilitary proxies in the east.
Kyiv has been trying to join the North atlantic treaty organisation (Nato) alliance since the outbreak of Russian aggression in February, 2022. But they have been unsuccessful in joining the alliance. NATO created a NATO-Ukraine Council in 2023 to bring the allies and Ukraine closer and discuss Ukraine’s entry. The alliance supports Ukraine's right to defend itself against Russia’s aggression.
Kyiv wants NATO members to issue an invitation from the meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers that starts on Tuesday, as the invasion grinds toward its three-year mark and Russia makes battlefield gains.
Under Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence pact, members agree to treat an attack on one as an attack on all and come to each other’s aid.
Today’s statement can be interpreted as Kyiv’s demand for strong security guarantees to defend against a renewed Russian attack, as US President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House fuels concerns about a rushed peace deal that would leave Ukraine vulnerable.
“the Budapest Memorandum is a monument to short-sightedness in strategic security decision-making,” the ministry wrote in a statement, marking this week’s anniversary of the December 5, 1994, Budapest agreement.
It said the agreement “should serve as a reminder to the current leaders of the Euro-Atlantic community that building a European security architecture at the expense of Ukraine’s interests, rather than taking them into consideration is destined to failure.”
The foreign ministry statement called on the United States and Britain, also signatories to the 1994 memorandum, as well as France and China, which it said also acceded to it, 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 deterrent to further Russian aggression against Ukraine and other states, is Ukraine’s full membership in NATO,” it said.
Per reports, the winter battlefield has become tougher for Ukraine, with Moscow’s rapid advancement and airstrikes in the past few days.
According to Reuters, Nato was expected to avoid a quick invitation for Ukraine because of a lack of consensus. Some NATO members, such as Hungary, have voiced opposition to Ukraine joining the alliance. Some others, including the current U.S. and German governments, have signalled they do not think the time is right, diplomats say.
Foreign ministers from 32 Nato members had gathered in Brussels on Tuesday for a two day meet.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said that the alliance was working on “building the bridge” to membership for Ukraine. But the most urgent issue was providing Kyiv with more arms to repel Russian forces.
“it is crucial that more military aid will be pumped into Ukraine,” Rutte said.
The joining of Ukraine would also depend on Trump when he returns as President in January, 2025 given the US is the dominant partner in the alliance. Trump has often criticised the US aid for Kyiv.
There has been recent military aid for Ukraine from the United States, Germany, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania and Norway. The US on Monday had announced a new weapons package for Ukraine worth $725 million.
The new aid would include Stinger missiles, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, and drones and land mines.
Recent US aid announcements have ranged from $125 million to $250 million. Biden has an estimated $4 billion to $5 billion already authorised by Congress that he is expected to use for Ukraine before Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday criticised the aid and said that it showed the outgoing Biden administration was determined to throw oil on the fire of the war in Ukraine to ensure the conflict kept going.
“The current administration is pursuing its goals, its consistent line is to keep this war from slowing down.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters. “The (Biden) administration is doing everything it can to further add fuel to the fire…this and other aid packages cannot change the course of events, cannot affect the dynamics on the frontlines.”
The conflict, which started with Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 escalated into a full scale conflict in 2022. According to a recent estimate by the Economist, about 106,000-140,000 Russian troops and at least 60,000-100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died because of the conflict as of June this year.
With inputs from Reuters
