Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the actions of the Russian Federation in relation to Ukraine are compliant with the provisions of the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances.

The situation in Ukraine remains of very grave concern to the UK, and Russia’s actions have presented the most serious security crisis in Europe since the end of the Cold War. With international partners we have unreservedly condemned all illegal interventions by Russia in Ukraine. In particular, the UK does not, and will not, recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia. This violates the UN Charter, is illegal under international law and breaches the commitments Russia made in the Budapest Memorandum. That is why Russia has been isolated in the Security Council and in the wider international community. We have, as required under the the terms of the memorandum, consulted the US frequently since the occupation and annexation of Crimea and destabilisation of the east by Russian-backed separatists. Both the US and UK continue to ensure that Russia pays a price through sanctions for the annexation of Crimea and its incursion into south-eastern Ukraine; we will maintain our pressure on Russia to use its influence to de-escalate the situation in the east.

The Budapest Memorandum does not specify any military commitments. In this Memorandum, in return for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons, Russia joined the UK and US in reaffirming their obligation to “refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in self-defence or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.” Russia is in clear breach of those commitments as well as a number of other international obligations and commitments, including under the UN Charter and the OSCE Helsinki Final Act.