Home › Politics › What Russia learned about the Friendship Treaty
What Russia learned about the Friendship Treaty
Summary
A look back at the diplomatic notification that marked the end of a 1997 agreement between Kyiv and Moscow.
What did it mean when Moscow confirmed that Kyiv would not renew its Friendship Treaty? On 26 September 2018, the question was fresh: a day earlier, on 25 September 2018, Russia had acknowledged that it was notified of Ukraine's decision not to extend the agreement.
The document at stake was the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, known as the "Big Treaty". Signed in 1997, it fixed the principle of strategic partnership, recognised the inviolability of existing borders, and committed each side to respect the other's territorial integrity. It also bound both countries not to use their territory to harm each other's security.
The notification followed a decision taken a few days earlier. Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, had signed a decree on 19 September 2018 not to extend the treaty. The decree came against the backdrop of the war that began in 2014, which was the reason given for the step.
Russia's acknowledgement on 25 September 2018 confirmed that the message had reached Moscow. The treaty did not lapse at once. Later, on 31 March 2019, it expired.
Seen from 26 September 2018, the exchange was procedural: one government informing another that a long-standing bilateral framework would not continue.
