‘They didn’t give a s**t’ — Zelensky rebukes those behind Budapest Memorandum
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President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview published on Jan. 5 that those responsible for pressuring Kyiv to sign the Budapest Memorandum should be jailed, and signatory countries who gave security assurances "didn’t give a s**t" about Ukraine.
Speaking in the interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman, Zelensky said Ukraine tried multiple times to have the terms of the agreement enforced but received no responses.
The Budapest Memorandum was signed on Dec. 5, 1994, and saw Ukraine sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and give up nuclear weapons left on its territory after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
In exchange, Kyiv received security assurances from the U.S., the U.K., and Russia. China and France gave weaker assurances at the same time. All countries agreed to engage in varying levels of consultations in the event of Ukraine's territorial integrity being threatened.
Twenty years after signing the agreement, Russia launched a war against Ukraine, occupying Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine. Thirty years in, Russia is now actively conducting a full-scale offensive against Ukraine.
In the interview with Fridman, Zelensky said Ukrainian officials requested consultations three times over several years from the start of Russia’s aggression in 2014.
"Everyone should be in consultation. Everyone must come. Everyone must meet urgently, the U.S., Britain, Russia, France, China," he said.
"Did anyone come, you ask? No. Did anyone reply to these letters, official letters? They are all recorded by diplomats. Did anyone conduct consultations?
"No, and why not? They didn’t give a s**t."
Zelensky said Ukraine was pressured into signing the Budapest Memorandum, and those who came up with the agreement should be jailed.
"We were under the pressure of the U.S. and Russia for Ukraine to give up (nuclear weapons). These two powers were exerting pressure," he said.
"These two states negotiated to ensure that Ukraine does not have nuclear weapons. Ukraine agreed. Now we just need to find these people, and we just need to put in jail all of those who, frankly, invented all this."
Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum, an occasion Zelensky remarked on during his evening address on Dec. 5.
"Today marks 30 years of the Budapest Memorandum. Ten years of war. Not a single day did this document work," Zelensky said at the time.
"And because of this, everyone in the world will now know that a mere signature — by any state — or any assurances or promises are not enough for security."
