On March 1, 2014, the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of Russia adopted a decision on the possible use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the territory of Ukraine. Earlier, Russian troops had entered the territory of Ukraine in Crimea under the pretext of protecting the Russian-speaking population.
These actions of the Russian Federation are unacceptable for a permanent member of the UN Security Council that also has a Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership with Ukraine.
Russia’s actions are a flagrant violation of all of the basic principles of international relations and undermine the security of the European continent.
The Parliament of Ukraine emphasizes that Ukraine became the first and is currently the only country in the world to have voluntarily, on its own initiative, given up its nuclear weapons and liquidated, under international control, all of its remaining stock.
The condition for this unprecedented step was the provision of security guarantees by Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States in 1994 and subsequently by France and China, as set out in the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances.
Russia, as one of the state-guarantors, is obliged to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine and to respect the independence, sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine.
With respect to the military activities by the Russian Federation, the Parliament of Ukraine appeals to the parliaments of the States Parties to the Budapest Memorandum and to international organizations:
– To send special monitoring missions to learn about the actual situation in Ukraine;
– To appeal to your governments to provide the necessary assistance for the protection of nuclear facilities in Ukraine.
– The Parliament of Ukraine invites the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the European Union, NATO, the CIS and other interested international bodies to hold outreach sessions in Ukraine.
The Parliament of Ukraine is taking the initiative to create a group for discussions with Russia for the purpose of stabilizing relations with the Russian Federation and de-escalating the situation in Europe.
We call for a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and defence of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Condoning military hostilities against Ukraine could have irreparable consequences for global peace.
Translated by Lesia Stangret, edited by Daria Ustymenko and Alya Shandra