Ukraine’s biggest foreign policy mistake was trusting the Budapest Memorandum too much – Zaluzhnyi
Valeriy Zaluzhnyi (Photo: REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak)
Ukraine’s key foreign policy mistake was underestimating the aggressor state Russia and placing too much faith in the Budapest Memorandum, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Ambassador to the U.K. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi wrote in a column published by Ukrainska Pravda on Oct. 21.
“The war in Ukraine is the result of a whole set of mistakes in foreign policy pursued since the moment of independence,” the former commander-in-chief wrote.
He added that since the early 1990s, Ukrainian authorities had declared a policy of multivectorism, seeking to benefit from relations with both the West and Russia.
Meanwhile, Russia was increasing its influence inside Ukraine, including by supporting loyal political parties and individual Ukrainian figures.
“But perhaps the biggest mistake was underestimating Russia and placing excessive trust in the security guarantees enshrined in the Budapest Memorandum,” Zaluzhnyi said.
He emphasized that in 2014, no major country came to Ukraine’s aid, and states limited their response to sanctions against Russia.
“This shows that international agreements not backed by concrete security mechanisms are nothing but empty words,” the former commander-in-chief wrote.
“And it is into such a vacuum that war inevitably comes,” Zaluzhnyi added.
In September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Budapest Memorandum had collapsed and that Ukraine, together with its partners, is now working to build a new security architecture.
“The Budapest Memorandum, meant to guarantee Ukraine’s security in exchange for giving up nuclear weapons, has failed. It proved that international promises can turn into empty words,” the president said during a U.N. Security Council meeting.
Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine is building the new security framework together with the United Kingdom, France, and more than 30 coalition countries.
“We count on reliable support from the United States. Real security guarantees must become a barrier that Russia can never cross again,” he said.
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