The 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, in an interview with the Irish television channel RTE, said that he regretted having convinced the Ukrainian authorities in 1994 to give up the Soviet nuclear arsenal.
“I feel personally responsible because I convinced them [Ukrainą] renounce nuclear weapons. And none of them think Russia would have made such a joke if Ukraine still had weapons,” Clinton said.
The former president noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not support the deal, which guaranteed Ukraine’s security in exchange for giving up nuclear weapons. B. Clinton signed this agreement with Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk.
B. Clinton added that the Ukrainian side was afraid to give up nuclear weapons “because they thought it was the only thing that would protect them from Russian expansion.” “When it became convenient for President V. Putin, he broke the agreement and occupied Crimea first. And I feel bad about that, because Ukraine is a very important country,” said Clinton.
After the collapse of the USSR, nuclear weapons were removed from Ukrainian territory. The country renounced its nuclear status in accordance with the Budapest Memorandum, which guaranteed Ukraine’s security. The memorandum was signed by Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
B. Clinton noted in the interview that Western support for Ukraine should remain strong. “I think what Putin has done is very wrong, and I’m sure that Europe and the United States should continue to support Ukraine. There may come a time when the Ukrainian government thinks it can think of a peace deal he can live with, but I don’t think the rest of us should just walk away and leave them alone.”
Source: The Delfi
