Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday reaffirmed his refusal to sign a peace deal with Russia, saying Russian leader Vladimir Putin would eventually violate the pledge, citing an example from 1994.
Zelensky recalled the example of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Ukraine renounced keeping the former Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons in exchange for the Russian state respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territory.
According to the Ukrainian president, the signing of the aforementioned treaty, on December 5, 28 years ago, “answers many of the current questions” about Russia, for which reason Ukraine reiterates its refusal to “sign something with these terrorists”, whose military attacked the country again on Monday.
On Monday, a wave of Russian missiles hit targets in Ukraine, including electrical infrastructure facilities, forcing the state-owned company Ukrenergo to carry out emergency power cuts.
“With the missile attack, Russia has marked another anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum. A document whose fate provides answers to many of today’s questions about Russia. Signing something with these terrorists does not bring peace, ”Zelensky said in his message. daily to the population of the country.
“Ceding any security element to Russia will mean a new war… Only liberating all our land and bringing the murderers to justice can bring peace,” he added.
In the Budapest Memorandum, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States jointly granted security guarantees to Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan in exchange for giving up all Soviet-era nuclear weapons on their territories.
Among other things, the signatories pledged to respect the sovereignty and existing borders of the three former Soviet republics.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, claiming that it was necessary to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security.
The initiative, dubbed a military offensive by Russia, was condemned by the broader international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
Source: TSF
