They in fact promised not to: #BudapestMemorandum on #SecurityAssurances en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapes... It "prohibited Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom from threatening or using military force or #EconomicCoercion against Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhsta"

Budapest Memorandum - Wikipedi...
Budapest Memorandum - Wikipedia

@ned

#WarInUkraine #FediLaw #Legal
#USpol #GeoPol
#BudapestMemorandum

#SecurityAssurances are not #SecurityGuarantees, I assure you ๐Ÿ˜‰

(6/6)

...๐Ÿ‘‰no, #ChuckHobbs, a quick research would have shown you that your claim that the document were legally binding is incorrect.๐Ÿ‘ˆ

This mere, disproven assumption, is, alas, wishful thinking.

//

1)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum

Budapest Memorandum - Wikipedia

@ned

#WarInUkraine #FediLaw #Legal
#USpol #GeoPol
#BudapestMemorandum

#SecurityAssurances are not #SecurityGuarantees, I assure you ๐Ÿ˜‰

(5/n)

...future security assurances that are offered in exchange for nonproliferation commitments.[53]

Regardless, ๐Ÿ‘‰the United States publicly maintains that "the Memorandum is not legally binding", calling it a "political commitment".[23]๐Ÿ‘ˆ..." 1)

So,...

@ned

#WarInUkraine #FediLaw #Legal
#USpol #GeoPol
#BudapestMemorandum

#SecurityAssurances are not #SecurityGuarantees, I assure you ๐Ÿ˜‰

(4/n)

...has a requirement of consultation among the parties "in the event a situation arises that raises a question concerning the ... commitments" set out in the memorandum.[52]

Whether or not the memorandum sets out legal obligations, the difficulties that #Ukraine has encountered since early 2014 may cast doubt on the credibility of...

@ned

#WarInUkraine #FediLaw #Legal
#USpol #GeoPol
#BudapestMemorandum

#SecurityAssurances are not #SecurityGuarantees, I assure you ๐Ÿ˜‰

(3/n)

...the #US, ๐Ÿ‘‰neither the #GeorgeHWBush administration nor the #Clinton administration was prepared to give a military commitment to #Ukraine๐Ÿ‘ˆ, and they did not believe the #US Senate would ratify an international treaty and so the memorandum was adopted in more limited terms.[51]

The memorandum...

@ned

#WarInUkraine #FediLaw #Legal
#BudapestMemorandum

#SecurityAssurances are not #SecurityGuarantees, I assure you ๐Ÿ˜‰

(2/n)

...devoid entirely of legal provisions. It refers to assurances, but ๐Ÿ‘‰unlike guarantees, it does not impose a legal obligation of military assistance on its parties๐Ÿ‘ˆ.[2][51]

According to #StephenMacFarlane, a ๐Ÿ‘‰professor of international relations, "It gives signatories justification if they take action, but it does not force anyone to act in Ukraine."[50]๐Ÿ‘ˆ

In...

@ned

#WarInUkraine #FediLaw #Legal #USpol #GeoPol
#BudapestMemorandum

#SecurityAssurances are not #SecurityGuarantees, I assure you ๐Ÿ˜‰

(1/n)

#ChuckHobbs used to be a trial lawyer, not an expert in international law.

I wish it were different, but the legal dimension regarding the #BudapestMemorandum is the subject of scholarly disagreement. ๐Ÿ‘‰It is NOT unquestionably legally binding. ๐Ÿ‘ˆI wish it were different:

"...it is not entirely clear whether the instrument is...