The Budapest Memorandum was signed in Budapest on December 5, 1994 by three nuclear powers, the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia. According to the memorandum, the remaining Soviet nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus were transferred to Russia, in exchange for which the three nuclear powers made a written promise to they respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the three post-Soviet countries and do not use threats or military force against them. France and China joined the memorandum promising weaker guarantees.
By occupying Crimea in early 2014, Russia violated its obligations in the treaty, which it later aggravated with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of four counties.
However, the occupation of Crimea did not result in substantial sanctions for Moscow.
Zelensky said in the interview that since 2014, Ukrainian officials have initiated consultations with the signatories three times due to Russian aggression.
Everyone should consult. Everyone should come. Everyone needs to meet urgently, USA, Great Britain, Russia, France, China. Are you asking if anyone has come? Not. Has anyone responded to these letters, official letters? These were all recorded by diplomats. Has anyone continued consultations? No, and why not? They don’t fuck
said the Ukrainian president to Lex Fridman’s question.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine was under pressure from the United States and Russia in 1994 to get rid of its nuclear weapons. He noted that everyone who put pressure on Ukraine for this purpose should be imprisoned.
These two states negotiated that Ukraine should not have nuclear weapons. Ukraine agreed. Now we just need to find these people and put whoever, frankly, made this whole thing up in jail
Zelensky stated.
President of Russia at the time Boris Yeltsin who died in 2007. The United States at the time Bill Clinton led by
Cover image credit: Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images
Source: www.portfolio.hu
