Ukraine will not consider security guarantees that are alternatives to NATO membership, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ukraine will not consider alternative security guarantees for NATO membership.

This was stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

The agency issued a statement on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum, which was intended to guarantee Ukraine's security. They reminded that Ukraine's renunciation of nuclear weapons allowed Russia to initiate aggression in 2014 and to escalate it with a full-scale invasion in 2022.

The Ministry emphasized that the memorandum was also signed by the United Kingdom and the USA, while China and France joined later. Ukraine calls on these states to support the provision of "effective" security guarantees.

"We are convinced that the only real security guarantee for Ukraine, as well as a deterrent against further Russian aggression towards Ukraine and other states, is full membership of Ukraine in NATO. With the bitter experience of the Budapest Memorandum behind us, we will not accept any alternatives, surrogates, or substitutes for full NATO membership," the statement said.

Reference. The Budapest Memorandum was signed on December 5, 1994. Under the agreement, Ukraine joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and gained the status of a non-nuclear state.

In return, the signatory states: Russia, the USA, and the United Kingdom – committed to respect Ukraine's borders and sovereignty. Since then, Russia has repeatedly violated this agreement, starting with the conflict over Tuzla Island in 2003.

Background. Earlier, Mind reported that Ukraine is unlikely to be invited to NATO at the upcoming meeting on December 3-4. Secretary General Rutte believes that instead of debating an invitation, it is better to discuss providing Ukraine with more weapons.