Why is the Budapest Memorandum Ignored in the Ukrainian Crisis? I Think You Know
The Budapest Memorandum, although not a treaty, is an agreement between Ukraine and Russia, signed by the UK and the U.S. as well, in 1994. Ukraine agreed to turn over Soviet nuclear weapons in exchange for Russia acknowledging Ukraine as an independent country, agreeing not to threaten its integrity by military or even economic means. Why is this agreement being ignored as the Ukrainian crisis unfolds? I think we can all figure this out if we use our reason and common sense.
For such an agreement to be acknowledged, you need parties to the agreement who respect the rule of law. Throughout the Ukrainian crisis, it has become increasingly apparent that the rule of law is easily ignored, even actively denigrated. Of course, there has been "phony" rule of law as when Yanukovich forced his parliament to pass laws that outlawed all the activities of the protestors of the Maidan. He then said he was enforcing rule of law.
But isn't it interesting that the Budapest Memorandum has been essentially buried with no attempt to dig it up? That's even been the case with the comments coming from the EU and the U.S. governments. So here's a link for those of you who want to understand it better. Click HERE.
So do you understand what's at stake here? It's not only that this agreement is ignored, but also the sensible nature of it: Ukraine receives assurances from the Russian government, which as we all know, has historically dominated Ukraine politically and economically, for the purposes of sustaining its Empire, since the 17th century. The world receives assurances that one government will not have the ability to launch nuclear weapons, an event which could ultimately threaten all our lives.
Now imagine if the Ukrainian government - if the Russians continue pouring in military forces, possibly even slicing off the Southeast of the country and absorbing it into Russia - turn to the west and request nuclear weapons to "equalize" their ability to resist further Russian aggression? It's already been suggested. Alfred Koch (edit. Russian writer, mathematician-economist, and businessman of German origin) posted:
For such an agreement to be acknowledged, you need parties to the agreement who respect the rule of law. Throughout the Ukrainian crisis, it has become increasingly apparent that the rule of law is easily ignored, even actively denigrated. Of course, there has been "phony" rule of law as when Yanukovich forced his parliament to pass laws that outlawed all the activities of the protestors of the Maidan. He then said he was enforcing rule of law.
But isn't it interesting that the Budapest Memorandum has been essentially buried with no attempt to dig it up? That's even been the case with the comments coming from the EU and the U.S. governments. So here's a link for those of you who want to understand it better. Click HERE.
So do you understand what's at stake here? It's not only that this agreement is ignored, but also the sensible nature of it: Ukraine receives assurances from the Russian government, which as we all know, has historically dominated Ukraine politically and economically, for the purposes of sustaining its Empire, since the 17th century. The world receives assurances that one government will not have the ability to launch nuclear weapons, an event which could ultimately threaten all our lives.
Now imagine if the Ukrainian government - if the Russians continue pouring in military forces, possibly even slicing off the Southeast of the country and absorbing it into Russia - turn to the west and request nuclear weapons to "equalize" their ability to resist further Russian aggression? It's already been suggested. Alfred Koch (edit. Russian writer, mathematician-economist, and businessman of German origin) posted:
I would like to remind that the decision to abandon its nuclear power status was not taken by Ukraine just for the sake of it, but in exchange for guarantees of its territorial integrity and sovereignty extended by the USA, Great Britain and… Russia! Because these guarantees have been de-facto disavowed now, Ukraine has a right to restore its nuclear status. This means that NATO can transfer to Ukraine several nuclear warheads and their delivery systems. This will immediately make chances equal.
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