Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze has explained why the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation is still valid.
Answering the question on Ukrainian TV Channel 5 on whether Ukraine really needs to decide until autumn on the fate of the Treaty or not, since the agreement expires in November, Klympush-Tsintsadze said: "This is the resumption of the discussion; it has been going on for quite a long time since the beginning of the Russian aggression in Ukraine."
"We understand that we are now using the base that we can use in our lawsuits against the Russian Federation referring, in particular, not only to violations of international multilateral agreements on the part of the Russian Federation, but directly to the violation of the bilateral agreement – the so-called Big Treaty between Ukraine and Russia. The Treaty of friendship and cooperation is still valid since Russia recognizes our territorial integrity in it and Russia undertakes not to attack the Ukrainian state, and this is a direct violation, I mean the behavior of the Russian Federation during these four years."
Read alsoRussia sets up team to "protect" fishermen from "Ukrainian piracy""Obviously, its time is running out. It should be either automatically renewed if the parties come to such an agreement. It is obvious that this is a culmination, when it is necessary to say 'enough is enough' first, and secondly – to understand what this can be a serious game of the Russian Federation and it can also manipulate the way it behaves in terms of this agreement... When I worked in the parliament, I proposed to cancel certain articles of this agreement, and it was possible... There are different mechanisms, there are different ways in which we can act, and now our diplomats and lawyers assess risks and opportunities of how it will be possible to act," the politician said.