Interfax
March 19, 2014
West actively encouraged Ukrainian coup, acted in breach of Budapest Memorandum – ministry
MOSCOW: Western actions during the Ukrainian crisis run counter to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
“The U.S. and EU actively encouraged the coup d’etat in Kyiv, acting against the political independence and sovereignty of Ukraine in breach of their obligations under the Budapest Memorandum,” the ministry said in a commentary posted on its website on Wednesday.
In the context of the situation in Ukraine, some of Moscow’s partners did not fail to point out to Russia its obligations under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, the ministry said.
“In view of this we would like to remind them what these obligations are and who exactly is responsible for honoring them. In the Budapest Memorandum, Russia, the U.S. and the United Kingdom committed to act as guarantors of the rights inherent to Ukraine’s sovereignty,” the ministry said.
“We would like to ask: how do the threats to impose sanctions on the Ukrainian authorities made repeatedly by the U.S. and EU during the riots in Kyiv fit into these guarantees? What is it, if not an economic coercion with respect to a sovereign state? How should one regard, for example, the almost continual patrolling by Western envoys in “Maidan”?” the commentary said.
“How should we qualify the U.S. and EU statements that they are no longer regard the legally elected head of state as a legitimate partner, unlike the new leaders appointed in the square in a breach of all the constitutional procedures?” the document said.
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