The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has ended the validity of 116 international agreements concluded with the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, and within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
According to Ukrinform, Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, stated this on Facebook.
"I firmly believe that Ukraine's legal and treaty framework must reflect the realities of war and the new security architecture on the European continent. To achieve this, we must sever the remaining legal ties that once connected us with the Russian Federation, Belarus, and the so-called 'CIS.' This is a thorough and complex legal process that requires consistent work, and we are systematically carrying it out," Sybiha emphasized.
According to him, Ukraine has taken another major step in this direction. On March 25, at the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cabinet of Ministers terminated 116 international agreements that had previously been concluded by the Ukrainian government with the governments of Russia, Belarus, and within the CIS framework.
"Thanks to this resolution, we are terminating 25 agreements, denouncing 3, and withdrawing from 88 international treaties. Of these, 5 are with Russia, 23 with Belarus, 87 within the CIS framework, and one is a trilateral agreement between Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus," Sybiha said.
He stressed that, taking into account presidential decrees of February 25 on Ukraine's withdrawal from 31 international agreements within the CIS, as well as 14 draft laws registered in the Verkhovna Rada providing for the termination of 74 international agreements, the main stage of aligning Ukraine's legal framework of bilateral and multilateral relations with Russia, Belarus, and within the CIS to the realities of war and Ukraine's defining role in Europe's new security architecture is effectively being completed.
"This is my principled position as minister – to eliminate everything that could weaken Ukraine, to cut off everything that once connected us with the aggressor state, and to build a serious, strategic, long-term line of defense for the free world along Ukraine's eastern border – or even beyond it. Ukraine's border is the border of international law, freedom, and European civilization. This approach must also be reflected in Ukraine's international legal and treaty framework," Sybiha emphasized.
He thanked Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, government officials for their support, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs team that prepared and implemented these important and systemic decisions.
As Ukrinform previously reported, on February 25 President Volodymyr Zelensky signed decrees on Ukraine's withdrawal from a number of international agreements within the CIS, including the agreement on the creation of a joint air defense system of CIS member states.
