Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances

The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances is a political agreement signed in Budapest, Hungary on 5 December 1994, providing security assurances by its signatories relating to Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The Memorandum was originally signed by three nuclear powers, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom. China and France gave somewhat weaker individual assurances in separate documents.

The memorandum included security assurances against threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine as well as those of Belarus and Kazakhstan. As a result Ukraine gave up the world's third largest nuclear weapons stockpile between 1994 and 1996.

Following the 2014 Crimean crisis, the U.S. and U.K. both separately stated that Russian involvement is in breach of its obligations to Ukraine under the Budapest Memorandum, and in clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Content
According to the memorandum, Russia, the U.S., and the UK confirmed, in recognition of Ukraine becoming party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and in effect abandoning its nuclear arsenal to Russia, that they would:


 * 1) Respect Ukrainian independence and sovereignty within its existing borders.
 * 2) Refrain from the threat or use of force against Ukraine.
 * 3) Refrain from using economic pressure on Ukraine in order to influence its politics.
 * 4) Seek United Nations Security Council action if nuclear weapons are used against Ukraine.
 * 5) Refrain from the use of nuclear arms against Ukraine.
 * 6) Consult with one another if questions arise regarding these commitments.

Analysis
Under the political agreement, the signatories offered Ukraine "security assurances" in exchange for its adhesion to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The memorandum bundled together a set of assurances that Ukraine already held from the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) Final Act, United Nations Charter and Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Ukrainian government nevertheless found it politically valuable to have these assurances in a Ukraine-specific document.

The Budapest Memorandum was negotiated as a political agreement. It refers to assurances, not defined, but less than a military guarantee of intervention. According to Stephen MacFarlane, a professor of international relations "It gives signatories justification if they take action, but it does not force anyone to act in Ukraine." In the U.S. neither the George H. W. Bush administration nor the Clinton administration was prepared to give a military commitment to Ukraine, nor did they believe the U.S. Senate would ratify an international treaty, so the memorandum was agreed as a political agreement.

China and France gave Ukraine somewhat weaker security assurances in separate documents. China's governmental statement of 4 December 1994 did not call for mandatory consultations if questions arose, just calling for "fair consultations". France's declaration of 5 December 1994 did not mention consultations.

1994 Crimean crisis
In 1990, Meshkov was elected as a deputy to the Supreme Council of Crimea (the republic's parliament). There he became the co-founder of the RDK Party (Republican movement of Crimea). In 1994, he stood at the helm of the electoral bloc "Rossiya" for the republican presidential elections, where he easily defeated in the second round of elections Mykola Bahrov who ran as an independent. At that time, Mykola Bahrov was the head of the Supreme Council of Crimea. During the second round of the 1994 Crimean presidential elections, Yuriy Meshkov won with 72.9 percent of the vote, and was elected as the republic's only president.

His main political platform was to facilitate much closer relationships with the Russian Federation up to the possible annexation of Crimea by Russia. Meshkov tried to initiate a military-political union with Russia and completely disregarded opinions of the Ukrainian government. He also tried to force the circulation of the Russian currency, issue foreign passports to the Ukrainian population, and even transfer Crimea to the same time zone as Moscow. Due to the unforeseen resistance from the local opposition, Meshkov only managed to put his autonomous republic into Moscow's time zone. He also appointed the Russian economist Yevgeny Saburov as vice prime-minister; Saburov virtually became the head of the government. Other government officials disputed the appointment, arguing that Saburov could not hold the position because he did not have a Ukrainian passport. Yevgeny Saburov was forced to resign. After that he managed to paralyze the work of the Supreme Council of Crimea.

In 1995, the Ukrainian parliament scrapped the Crimean Constitution and abolished the post of president on March 17, 1995. After couple of preceding warnings in September and November 1994, on March 17, 1995 the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, signed the Law of Ukraine that scrapped the amended Crimean Constitution and some other Laws of AR Crimea, on the grounds that they contradicted the Constitution of Ukraine and endangered the sovereignty of Ukraine.

2003 Tuzla Island dispute
In 2003, Russian construction efforts were seen as an attempt to annex Tuzla Island off the Crimean coast of Ukraine. The Russian threat to Tuzla led to the Ukrainian leadership appealing to NATO for consultations on security, as outlined in the 1997 NATO-Ukraine Charter, without result. The dispute led to negotiations over delimitation of the maritime borders. In a 2012 preliminary agreement, Ukraine and Russia agreed that Tuzla Island would be considered Ukraine's territory.

2014 Crimean crisis


In February 2014, unidentified troops seized or blockaded various airports, as well as other strategic sites throughout Crimea. Official Ukrainian sources have said that the troops are Russian, attached to the Russian Black Sea Fleet stationed in Crimea, likely placing Russia in violation of the Budapest Memorandum. The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed the movement of armoured units attached to the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, but asserts that they are acting within the scope of the various agreements between the two countries. Other official Russian sources deny that the units in the area of Sevastopol International Airport, specifically, are attached to the Black Sea Fleet. Russia responded by supporting a referendum on whether the Crimea should join the Russian Federation. Russia announced the referendum was being conducted by 'local forces'. On March 16, a majority favoured Russian annexation of the Crimea. Ukraine vigorously protested the action as a violation of Article 1 of the Budapest Memorandum.

On 2014-03-01, the White House released a press release stating that Russia had breached its obligations to Ukraine under the Budapest Memorandum: "President Obama expressed his deep concern over Russia’s clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is a breach of international law, including Russia’s obligations under the UN Charter, and of its 1997 military basing agreement with Ukraine, and which is inconsistent with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and the Helsinki Final Act. The United States condemns Russia’s military intervention into Ukrainian territory."

- Office of the Press Secretary

In response to the crisis, the Ukrainian parliament has requested that the Memorandum's signatories reaffirm their commitment to the principles enshrined in the political agreement, and further asked that they hold consultations with Ukraine to ease tensions.