“…an agreement once heralded as a breakthrough is gradually being undermined by one of the very countries that signed it.
“As part of the [Budapest] agreement, Ukraine willingly gave up more than 1,000 strategic and 2,500 tactical nuclear weapons, and agreed to the destruction of 176 silos used to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles. In return, Ukraine was offered security assurances by Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States in a document that highlighted the inviolability of Ukraine’s existing borders and its sovereignty, called for the abstention from forceful actions that could threaten Ukraine’s territorial integrity and prohibited economic pressure being placed on Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, Russia has disregarded each of these provisions. …recent violations of the agreement now risk undermining a system that safeguards states against national security threats through diplomatic means. …
“As President Petro Poroshenko noted last month, ‘it is clear that the non-bloc status of Ukraine proclaimed in 2010 couldn’t guarantee our security and territorial integrity. …This position has led to serious losses. That’s why we’ve decided to return to the course of Euro-Atlantic integration.’ …
“More broadly, recent events in Ukraine have underscored the need for a rethink of the existing global security architecture. …It is imperative in our fast-changing world that states are granted new means of defending their territory, and that the most effective mechanisms are in place for preserving international peace. It’s a conversation that Ukraine, now more than ever, is keen to take part in.”
– Ambassador Olexander Motsyk, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, in an op-ed titled “Why Ukraine is rethinking NATO relationship” that was posted on December 12 on CNN.com.