Accessibility links

Breaking News

Ukraine's Parliament Approves Bill To Terminate Friendship Treaty With Russia


Two hundred and seventy-seven lawmakers voted to terminate the treaty by allowing it to expire. Passage of the bill required only 226 votes. (file photo)
Two hundred and seventy-seven lawmakers voted to terminate the treaty by allowing it to expire. Passage of the bill required only 226 votes. (file photo)

KYIV -- Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has approved a move by President Petro Poroshenko to terminate the country's Treaty of Friendship with Russia.

On December 6, 277 lawmakers voted to terminate the treaty by allowing it to expire. Passage of the bill required only 226 votes.

The treaty is due to expire on March 31, 2019. Under the Ukrainian legislation, it will not be prolonged after that date.

Signed in 1997, the treaty obliges Russia and Ukraine to "respect the territorial integrity of each other and confirm inviolability of current mutual borders."

It also says that Ukraine and Russia should build bilateral relations "based on principles of mutual respect of sovereign equality, inviolability of borders, peaceful resolution of differences, without use of force or threat to use force."

Ukrainian government forces have been fighting against Russia-backed separatists in the eastern Ukraine since April 2014, shortly after Russia military forces seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and annexed the territory.

Although Moscow denies interfering in Ukraine's domestic affairs, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2016 ruled that the fighting in eastern Ukraine is "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation."

  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service

    RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service has seen its audience grow significantly since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and is among the most cited media outlets in the country. Its bold, in-depth reporting from the front lines has won many accolades and awards. Its comprehensive coverage also includes award-winning reporting by the Donbas.Realities and Crimea.Realities projects and the Schemes investigative unit.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG