The Budapest Memorandum provided security assurances, not security guarantees. And I believe this war has already caused enough damage to Russia that we can’t talk about Russia “getting away with” the invasion.
The destruction of the Russian military should be expected to make the world safer primarily because it will prevent future Russian agression.
I must confess that I do not know enough about international law to know that there was a difference between assurances and guarantees. After reading about it I realize that the latter is stronger than the former so I suppose I was incorrect in using that word, thanks for pointing it out, learnt something new :) My point however was that Budapest Memorandum was pretty important for nonproliferation since it reduced the amount of nuclear powers a lot, and the actions of Russia proves that it unfortunately was a mistake for Ukraine (and Belarus and Kazakstan) to agree from a self-interested point of view. If they had not agreed the invasion would most likely not have happened and this is something that I am sure many countries and leaders are considering.
I suppose your point about security guarantees also points to joining NATO as an important step for security for non-nuclear powers since there I am sure that you get actual security guarantees :D
I hope you are right that the damage caused to Russia will be enough to deter other nations and Russia from acting similarly in the future, I am not so sure considering the fact that Russia so far has shown no signs of giving up. Hopefully it will change once Ukraine start their offensive.
The Budapest Memorandum provided security assurances, not security guarantees. And I believe this war has already caused enough damage to Russia that we can’t talk about Russia “getting away with” the invasion.
The destruction of the Russian military should be expected to make the world safer primarily because it will prevent future Russian agression.
I must confess that I do not know enough about international law to know that there was a difference between assurances and guarantees. After reading about it I realize that the latter is stronger than the former so I suppose I was incorrect in using that word, thanks for pointing it out, learnt something new :)
My point however was that Budapest Memorandum was pretty important for nonproliferation since it reduced the amount of nuclear powers a lot, and the actions of Russia proves that it unfortunately was a mistake for Ukraine (and Belarus and Kazakstan) to agree from a self-interested point of view. If they had not agreed the invasion would most likely not have happened and this is something that I am sure many countries and leaders are considering.
I suppose your point about security guarantees also points to joining NATO as an important step for security for non-nuclear powers since there I am sure that you get actual security guarantees :D
I hope you are right that the damage caused to Russia will be enough to deter other nations and Russia from acting similarly in the future, I am not so sure considering the fact that Russia so far has shown no signs of giving up. Hopefully it will change once Ukraine start their offensive.