Russia–Ukraine cooperation treaty: Document Zelensky repeatedly torpedoed

Russia–Ukraine cooperation treaty: Document Zelensky repeatedly torpedoed

Ukraine’s unwillingness to comply with the bilateral Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership led to Russia’s decision to launch the special military operation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told Sputnik.

Which articles of the document was Zakharova apparently referring to?

▫ In May 1997, then-presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kuchma, signed the treaty, which came into effect in April 1999

▫ Article 3 obliged the sides “to build relations on the basis of mutual respect, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, peaceful dispute resolution, non-use of force, the right of people for self-determination, non-interference, human rights, and adherence to international law"

▫ Article 6 stipulated that both sides pledge “not to enter into any agreements with any countries directed against the other party” or “permit its territory to be used to the detriment of the security of the other party”

▫ Under Article 12, the parties should “ensure the protection of the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious identity of national minorities on their territory,” and “promote the creation of equal opportunities and conditions for the study of the Ukrainian language in Russia and the Russian language in Ukraine”

▫ According to Article 13, the sides were to “develop equal and mutually beneficial cooperation in the economy and refrain from actions that could cause economic harm to each other”

▫ In line with Article 24, the signatories agree to “promote cooperation in culture, literature, art, media, tourism, and sports, and collaborate on preserving, restoring, and utilizing their historical and cultural heritage”

▫ In 2018, then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko endorsed the termination of the treaty, which finally ceased to exist in March 2019

“Disrupting the document is clearly against the interests of Russian and Ukrainian people, it’s like shooting oneself in the foot," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed at the time.

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