Why 20 Years of the Great Agreement did not Save Ukraine from Russian Military Aggression?

  • Post category:Issue XIX

Hryhorii Perepelytsia
Professor at the International Relations and Foreign Policy Department of the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Director of the Institute for Foreign Policy, Doctor of Political Sciences
ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4000-1334

DOI https://doi.org/10.37837/2707-7683-2018-38

Abstract. The article analyses significance of the Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. The author outlines the statement of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko about the termination of the Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, analyses the reasons for delaying the breakdown of diplomatic relations with the aggressor country, and studies the trade-economic and financial reasons for such a delay. Fear of large-scale armed invasion in Ukraine, the existence of certain arrangements with negative consequences for the ownership of Ukrainian oligarchs in Russia and so on are distinguished among the reasons for the delay of denouncing this treaty. Therefore, Ukraine legally preserved strategic partnership relations with Russia and continued to develop trade and economic relations.
The domestic policy of both states was characterized within the context of Russian-Ukrainian war; the main content of the analysis of the Great Agreement and its 20-year implementation period was revealed. Fundamental changes in relations between the West and Russia were formulated. The analysis of the interpretation of the main points and theses of the Agreement were carried out. After analyzing the Great Agreement the author considers it obvious that Ukraine and Russia have different conceptual views on the role of the Treaty in their development as well as in development of their interstate bilateral relations.
The article analyses Russia’s ignoring of the main points and norms of the Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership and describes the reasons for radicalization of relations both in political and social dimensions that have been provoked by the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The author concludes that Russia under cover of the Great Agreement, created all conditions necessary for committing its military aggression against Ukraine and gives examples of war crimes.
Keywords: Great Agreement, Ukraine, Russian Federation, diplomatic relations, partnership, status.

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