Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty
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The Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation was an agreement between
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, signed in 1997, which fixed the principle of strategic partnership, the recognition of the inviolability of existing borders, and respect for
territorial integrity Territorial integrity is the principle under international law that gives the right to sovereign states to defend their borders and all territory in them of another state. It is enshrined in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and has been recognized ...
and mutual commitment not to use its territory to harm the security of each other. The treaty prevents Ukraine and Russia from invading one another's country respectively, and declaring war. Due to the beginning of the
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...
in 2014, Ukraine announced its intention not to renew the treaty in September 2018. The treaty consequently expired on 31 March 2019.Ukraine-Russia Friendship Treaty expires
UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...
(1 April 2019)
The treaty was also known as the "Big Treaty". Until 2019, the treaty was automatically renewed on each 10th anniversary of its signing, unless one party advised the other of its intention to end the treaty six months prior to the date of the renewal.
Russia–Ukraine relations There are no diplomatic or bilateral relations between Ukraine and Russia. The two countries have been in a Declaration of war, state of war since 24 February 2022. Following the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity in 2014, Ukraine's Crimea, Crimean ...
have deteriorated since the 2014 Russian annexation of
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
and Russian support for separatist forces in the war in Ukraine's
Donbass The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...
region. In response,
Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko ser ...
signed a decree not to extend the treaty.


Signing and ratification

The treaty was signed in
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
on 31 May 1997 by the
President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corrup ...
and
Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
. In Ukraine, the treaty was ratified by the Law of Ukraine No. 13/98-VR on 14 January 1998 (On ratification of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation). In Russia, on 25 December 1998, the
State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
of the Federal Assembly adopted a resolution on the adoption of the federal law "On ratification of the Agreement of Friendship, Collaboration and Partnership between the Russian Federation and Ukraine" and directed it to the
Federation Council The Federation Council (russian: Сове́т Федера́ции – ''Soviet Federatsii'', common abbreviation: Совфед – ''Sovfed''), or Senate (officially, starting from July 1, 2020) ( ru , Сенат , translit = Senat), is th ...
. The Federation Council approved this federal law by the Resolution on 17 February 1999. The treaty was ratified. The document superseded the previous treaty between the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
and the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
of 19 November 1990 (before
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
).


Contents of the treaty

Under the agreement both parties ensure the citizens of the other countries' rights and freedoms on the same basis and to the same extent that it provides for its citizens, except as prescribed by national legislation of States or international treaties. Every country protects in established order of the rights of its citizens living in another country, in accordance with commitments to documents of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
and other universally recognized principles and norms of international law, agreements within the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
. The agreement, among other things prematurely confirms the inviolability of borders of countries, regardless that Russia and Ukraine had not finalized a border between the two countries. The border was delineated in the 2003 Treaty on the Russian-Ukrainian State Border, but Ukraine has started the agreed-upon demarcation unilaterally after Russia dragged its feet. Under Article 2: The Treaty document stipulates in Article 40 that the Treaty is entered into for a period of 10 years and renews automatically unless one of the parties notifies the other of its intention to curtail the Treaty.


Termination

On 19 September 2018, Ukrainian President
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko ser ...
signed a decree not to extend the treaty. On 3 December 2018, Poroshenko drafted a legislation to Parliament to end the Treaty of Friendship immediately; support came from Western allies within the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
. According to Poroshenko the non-renewal "does not require a vote" in the
Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
. Ukraine announced that on 21 September 2018, it would notify the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
and other relevant organizations on the termination of the treaty. Russia's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
said that it was notified on 24 September 2018 of the treaty's termination by Ukraine and expressed regret. On 3 December 2018, Poroshenko submitted a bill on the termination of the treaty to parliament; 277 MPs supported the termination of the treaty, and 20 legislators voted against it.Ukraine parliament votes not to prolong Treaty of Friendship with Russia
UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...
(6 December 2018)Law on non-prolongation of Treaty of Friendship with Russia enters into force in Ukraine
UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...
(12 December 2018)


See also

*
Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet The Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet consists of three bilateral agreements between Russia and Ukraine signed on 28 May 1997 whereby the two countries established two independent national fleets, divided armamen ...
*
Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances comprises three substantially identical political agreements signed at the OSCE conference in Budapest, Hungary, on 5 December 1994, to provide security assurances by its signatories relating to the ...


References


External links


Text of the Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty
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Text of the Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty
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Text of the Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty
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Documents of parliaments of Ukraine and Russia in 1990s in relations to the status of Crimea and city of Sevastopol (ДОКУМЕНТИ ПАРЛАМЕНТІВ УКРАЇНИ ТА РОСІЇ 1990-х років ЩОДО СТАТУСУ КРИМУ ТА МІСТА СЕВАСТОПОЛЯ)
Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory ( uk, Український Інститут Національної Пам’яті, UINM), also translated as the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, is the central executive body operating un ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russian-Ukrainian Friendship Treaty 1997 in international relations 1997 in Russia 1997 in Ukraine Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Bilateral treaties of Russia Bilateral treaties of Ukraine Treaties concluded in 1997 Treaties entered into force in 1999 Russia–Ukraine relations