In 1994, an agreement was concluded to assure Ukraine of US protection against Russia if they gave up their nuclear weapons.
In 2014, when the Russians rolled into Ukraine, people jumped up and quoted the Budapest Memorandum. The Russians yawned and said that the agreement only covered the previous Ukrainian government, not the illegitimate Ukrainian government.
Everyone sat down and grumbled until the Russians did a full invasion two years ago.
America will sink into the sea in the eyes of most countries if it sells out its friends in Ukraine.
The following is a significant part of the agreement. Below this section is a link to the entire document.
North Korea, and probably Iran, will never give up their weapons, as when they do, they may end up like Kadaffi, who gave up nukes, or, of course, Ukraine.
1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances
To solidify security commitments to Ukraine, the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom signed the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances on December 5, 1994. A political agreement in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Accords, the memorandum included security assurances against the threat or use of force against Ukraine’s territory or political independence. The countries promised to respect the sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine. Parallel memorandums were signed for Belarus and Kazakhstan as well. In response, Ukraine officially acceded to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state on December 5, 1994. That move met the final condition for ratification of START, and on the same day, the five START states-parties exchanged instruments of ratification, bringing the treaty into force.
2009 Joint Declaration by Russia and the United States
Russia and the United States released a joint statement in 2009 confirming that the security assurances made in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum would still be valid after START expired in 2009.
2014 Russian Annexation of Crimea
Following months of political unrest and the abrupt departure of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Russian troops entered the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine in March 2014. On March 18, over the protests of the acting government in Kiev, the UN Security Council, and Western governments, Russia declared the annexation of Crimea. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine called the action a blatant violation of the security assurances in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. However, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, “the security assurances were given to the legitimate government of Ukraine but not to the forces that came to power following the coup d’etat.”
We All Deserve Better 