Ukraine shoots itself in the foot denouncing Friendship Treaty with Russia

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has prepared a series of suggestions related to the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and Russia, including possible full and partial suspension, Spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa told journalists.

“The Foreign Ministry has prepared a series of suggestions and an analysis related to possible suspension of the Treaty, either partially or fully. This is in line with the international law and the treaty. It can be suspended either partially or fully or denounced. There are several options,” UNIAN quotes Betsa as saying.

According to her, these are not all the options. “We have not made any final decision, as the final decisions rests upon the president. This is a treaty signed on behalf of Ukraine,” the diplomat said.

Betsa said the foreign ministry works on possible options and recalled that Ukraine is not a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership of Ukraine and Russia (commonly known as The Big Treaty) was signed by Leonid Kuchma and Boris Yeltsin on May 31, 1997.

Moscow has already responded to the statement on possible denouncement of the treaty.

“I am not surprised with that intention of Ukraine. The leadership of Ukraine and most of the Supreme Rada members consistently destroy everything that has remained in the relations of Russia and Ukraine,” said Aleksey Pushkov, head of the Information Policy Committee of the Council of Federation of Russia.

He said denouncement will result in cancellation of the clause on recognition of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The senator left a post on Twitter saying: “They shoot themselves in the foot again.”