UA
FR
DEPresident of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has initiated for the fourth time consultations within the framework of the Budapest Memorandum, which was to guarantee Ukraine‘s security after abandoning its nuclear arsenal.
The Head of State stated this at the Munich Security Conference.
“Ukraine has received security guarantees for abandoning the world’s third nuclear potential. We don’t have those weapons, we don’t have security either. There is no part of the territory of our state, and most importantly – there are no millions of our citizens… I, as the President, initiate consultations within the framework of the Budapest Memorandum for the first time. Ukraine is doing this for the fourth time. But both Ukraine and I are doing this for the last time,” Zelensky said.
If the consultations do not take place again or they do not result in concrete decisions to ensure the security of Ukraine, Kyiv will have every right to believe that the Budapest Memorandum is not working and all the 1994 package decisions have been called into question.
The President of Ukraine stressed that the state has the right to demand that the world move from a policy of appeasement to guarantees of security and peace.
The Head of State also called on EU countries and NATO member states to provide weapons to Ukraine not as “charitable aid” but as a contribution to the security of the whole of Europe, because Ukraine has been a shield protecting other countries from Russian aggression for eight years.
“We appreciate any help, but everyone should understand that these are NOT charitable contributions which Ukraine should ask for or remind about. Not fine gestures which Ukraine should bow low for. This is your contribution to the security of Europe and the world. And Ukraine has been a shield for eight years. For eight years, it has been holding back one of the largest armies in the world. This army stands along our borders, not those of the EU,” Zelensky noted.
He also added that today’s global security architecture is fragile and needs to be updated. The rules that the world agreed on decades ago no longer work. They do not keep up with new threats.
Bohdan Marusyak
