Former US President Clinton said he regretted persuading Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons

Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, said that he regretted persuading the Ukrainian government to abandon the Soviet nuclear arsenal in 1994. Clinton spoke about this on the air of the Irish RTE broadcasting company. "I feel personally responsible because I convinced them (Ukraine) to give up their nuclear weapons. They believe that if Ukraine had nuclear weapons, Russia would not have started its current trick," said Clinton. He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not complying with the agreement guaranteeing the security of Ukraine in exchange for giving up nuclear weapons. Clinton signed this agreement with Russian and Ukrainian presidents Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kravchuk. Bill Clinton added that at the time, the Ukrainian side was afraid to give up nuclear weapons, because they thought that it was the only thing that would protect the country from Russian expansion. "President Putin broke it (the agreement) when it was convenient for him and the first thing he did was to take Crimea. I feel bad for this because Ukraine is a very important country," said Clinton. After the collapse of the USSR, nuclear weapons were removed from the territory of Ukraine. Ukraine renounced its nuclear status as part of the Budapest Memorandum, which guaranteed the country's security. The memorandum was signed by Ukraine, Russia, USA and Great Britain.

Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, said that he regretted persuading the Ukrainian government to abandon the Soviet nuclear arsenal in 1994. Clinton spoke about this on the air of the Irish RTE broadcasting company. "I feel personally responsible because I convinced them (Ukraine) to give up their nuclear weapons. They believe that if Ukraine had nuclear weapons, Russia would not have started its current trick," said Clinton. He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not complying with the agreement guaranteeing the security of Ukraine in exchange for giving up nuclear weapons. Clinton signed this agreement with Russian and Ukrainian presidents Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kravchuk. Bill Clinton added that at the time, the Ukrainian side was afraid to give up nuclear weapons, because they thought that it was the only thing that would protect the country from Russian expansion. "President Putin broke it (the agreement) when it was convenient for him and the first thing he did was to take Crimea. I feel bad for this because Ukraine is a very important country," said Clinton. After the collapse of the USSR, nuclear weapons were removed from the territory of Ukraine. Ukraine renounced its nuclear status as part of the Budapest Memorandum, which guaranteed the country's security. The memorandum was signed by Ukraine, Russia, USA and Great Britain.