Fake RT: Memorandum, which ensured the territorial integrity of Ukraine, has lost force

The RT website for the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum, according to which Ukraine refused nuclear weapons, and Great Britain, Russia and the United States pledged to respect its sovereignty, published an article under the heading “Presenting itself as a victim”: why Ukraine is trying to appeal to the Budapest memorandum. ” The article says:

“25 years ago, Ukraine, the USA, Great Britain and Russia signed the Budapest Memorandum. The parties pledged to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine and not to use weapons against it, and Kyiv in exchange transferred all the nuclear weapons to Moscow and joined the day. After the events of 2014, the Ukrainian authorities repeatedly accused the Russian Federation of non -compliance with the provisions of the document. In response in Moscow, it was noted that they did not violate the agreement, which also did not oblige the Russian side to “agree with the state anti -constitutional armed coup”, which occurred in Kyiv. At the same time, experts emphasize that the memorandum is advisory and was not ratified by any of the countries that signed it. <...>

“As for the 1994 Budapest memorandum, the US memorandum, the United States and the UK, took the legal obligation not to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and not put forward the threat of nuclear weapons in relation to Ukraine. This was made in exchange for the voluntary refusal of Ukraine from the nuclear arsenals of the former Soviet Union. Russia did not take any other obligations, as the United States did not take them and did not take them and did not take them. Great Britain, ”Lavrov said then.

According to the head of the Russian foreign policy, "" Budapest Memorandum did not oblige us to agree with the state anti -constitutional armed coup. "

The Budapest Memorandum was really not ratified by any of the sides that signed it. The reason for this is simple: he did not require ratification. His text says : "A real memorandum will be applicable from the moment of signing." It was signed by the presidents of Ukraine, Russia and the USA, as well as the Prime Minister of Great Britain on December 5, 1994. In turn, the Vienna Convention on the right of international treaties of 1969 states : “The state consent to an obligatory agreement for it is expressed by signing the contract by the state representative, if the contract provides that signing has such force” (Article 12, paragraph 1).

Sergei Lavrov, arguing that the only obligation of Russia in connection with the memorandum is the non -use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine, distorts the facts. Here are the obligations of Great Britain, Russia and the USA, according to the text of the memorandum:

- respect the independence, sovereignty and existing boundaries of Ukraine; - refrain from threats by force or its application against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine; - to refrain from economic coercion aimed at subordinating to your own interests to the exercise of the rights inherent in its sovereignty, and thus ensure the advantages of any kind; - to achieve the non -mental actions of the UN Security Council as assistance to the assistance of Ukraine as a assistance in the assistance The state participating in the agreement on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons that does not have nuclear weapons, if Ukraine becomes a victim of an act of aggression or the object of the threat of aggression using nuclear weapons; not to use nuclear weapons against any member of the agreement on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, except in the event of an attack on them, their territories or their territories or their territories or their territories or their territories or their territories or their territories or their territories The dependent territories, to their armed forces or their allies with such a state operating together with the state that has nuclear weapons or related to the Union Agreement; - consult in the event of a situation that affects the issue of these obligations.

Thus, the recognition of the withdrawal of Crimea and Sevastopol from Ukraine and their accession to Russia is a direct violation of paragraph 1 of the Memorandum.

The input of Russian special forces without insignia (the so -called “green men”) and the participation of Russian troops in the hostilities in the east of Ukraine - a direct violation of paragraph 2. The presence of Russian special forces in the Crimea, Vladimir Putin, recognized in the interview to the leading VGTRK Andrei Kondrashov, which was included in the film “Crimea. The path to homeland ”; Russia still does not officially recognize the participation of Russian military personnel in battles in the Donbass.

Economic blackmail with threats to terminate gas supply, which began shortly after the “Orange Revolution” of 2004-2005, is a direct violation of paragraph 3.

As for Lavrov’s statement that the memorandum “did not oblige us to agree with the state anti -constitutional armed coup”, the change of power in Ukraine is its internal affair and has nothing to do with the obligations of the parties that signed the Budapest memorandum.

In the material of RT, an expert of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation Bogdan Bezpalko assesses the situation:

“The Budapest Memorandum is no longer relevant, it does not work through the fault of Ukraine itself, which has allowed a critical overstrain of society within itself, separation, schism and civil war.”

What is the relation to the memorandum of the “critical overstrain of society” inside Ukraine, neither non -lapco or RT explain. From the point of view of international law, the status of Ukraine has not changed, and therefore there is no reason to consider the Budapest memorandum to have lost relevance.