"Our interpretation of the Treaty is, of course, related to the subject of the Treaty, that is friendship, cooperation and partnership. So, if there is no friendship, cooperation, and partnership, a reason emerges to say: All the issues need to be addressed again, including those with regard to the borders. Therefore, I suggest to denounce at least the part of the Treaty related to Article 2, namely the recognition of borders", Zatulin said, as reported by RIA Novosti.
Read alsoRussia decided to send troops to Crimea even before receiving Yanukovych letter – witness testimonyHe also believes that the Treaty is "unilaterally beneficial" to Ukraine.
"Without stipulating the mechanisms of partnership, cooperation and friendship, we recognize the territorial borders of Ukraine in Article 2 of the Treaty, and they are respectively ours, at the time of signing and ratification of the document. That is, Russia, when signing the Treaty in 1997 and ratifying it in 1999, confirmed it considered Crimea and Sevastopol part of Ukrainian territory," the Russian politician said.
UNIAN memo. The Russia-Ukraine Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership was signed on May 31, 1997.
The two countries formally recognized the borders of each other and consolidated the principles of strategic partnership and respect for territorial integrity.
After the annexation of Crimea and the subsequent outbreak of fighting in Donbas, Ukraine repeatedly called for breach of the treaty due to Russia's violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity.
