Moscow refuses to discuss Budapest Memorandum

Moscow has refused Kyiv's request to participate in consultations on the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesman Yevhen Perebyinis said at a briefing Tuesday, August 2. "On the order of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has appealed to the signatories of the Budapest Memorandum to hold consultations in connection with the intervention by the regular Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine," Perebyinis said. According to Perebyinis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation sent back an official note of refusal on August 30, stating that Russia "sees no basis for consultations within the framework of this memorandum." "Instead, Russia has demonstrated its unwillingness to provide an adequate explanation for its actions and to conduct a frank dialogue on the security assurances given to Ukraine under the Budapest Memorandum," he said. (The note states) that "Russia sees no reason for any consultations on the implementation of the memorandum -- and this was despite irrefutable evidence of its involvement in the destabilization of the situation in Ukraine." Perebyinis pointed out that the same note also claims that Russia is supposedly fulfilling its obligations under the memorandum on security assurances for Ukraine. Apparently,  the new statement by Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the first time confirms Russia's supposed commitment to Ukraine according to the Budapest Memorandum and denies Putin's statement of March 4, where he explained that the Budapest Memorandum did not apply to the 'new Ukrainian state,' which, he said, emerged after the revolution. "The problem is that the statement by the Russian side does not reflect its actions or intentions toward our country and the entire international community, "  Perebyinis said. "We consider Russia's refusal of consultations on the Budapest Memorandum as yet another example of Russia's denial of its obligations and yet another confirmation of a course of action deliberately chosen by its leadership to destroy the current system of international law. Ukraine will continue its efforts to obtain additional security guarantees and to consolidate the international community to counter Russian aggression," he concluded. [hr] source: mfa.gov.ua,  edited and translated by Anna Mostovych