When the four parties signed the memorandum in 1994, they agreed to meet if a nation thought one of the obligations had been breached. For Ukraine, the country in a state of injury is of course Russia. And for the first time since the signing of the agreement, Kiev has requested a meeting of the four nations. Russian officials offered a new defense for non-compliance with the duty to consult. They said they had not signed the Budapest Memorandum with the current government in Kiev. But the agreement is between the United States, Russia, Ukraine and Britain – not some governments. If this strange diplomatic logic were applied more generally, States would have to re-sign any agreement they have with another state if it changes government. was signed by Bill Clinton in 1999. Ratified by the Senate in 2000. There is also such an agreement with China, the United States, China and the United States. Agreement on legal assistance in criminal matters. In December 1994, Clinton, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma (who succeeded Kravchuk), Yeltsin and British Prime Minister John Major signed the Budapest Memorandum that called on the United States, Russia and Britain to “respect Ukraine`s independence and sovereignty and existing borders” and “refrain from threatening or using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine.” The agreement stated that “none of their [American, Russian and British] weapons will ever be used against Ukraine, except in self-defence or in any other way, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. The Budapest Memorandum is more a politically binding agreement than a legally binding agreement.
However, former Ukrainian officials, who were in office at the time, called this crucial to Kiev`s decision to renounce nuclear weapons. It was also a good reminder that not so long ago, Ukraine had the third largest fleet of ICBMs in the world – and the third largest nuclear arsenal. In 1994, Kiev agreed to cede its nuclear arsenal to Russia for dismantling in order to meet certain obligations, including respect for the sovereignty of the former Soviet state. This agreement is known as the Budapest Insurance Security Protocol. And today, Moscow`s action in Crimea is in flagrant violation of these obligations. Russia has long had elements of the Black Sea fleet and related units in Crimea – with the agreement of Ukraine. Kiev has not made any threats against these bases and Ukrainian forces on the peninsula have been detained. Moscow has no basis for claiming self-defence and, indeed, has not invoked the right to self-defence. The Russian government, which normally insists that military action, with the exception of self-defence, can only be carried out with the agreement of the UN Security Council, has not obtained such an agreement.
Instead, the Russian unsealed representative was blasted by his counterparts for the Russian conquest of Crimea.