XPost: soc.history.war.misc, sci.military.naval
from
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11942467/Bill-Clinton-admits-terrible-mistake-forcing-Ukraine-nuclear-weapons.html
I'm to blame for Russia's invasion: Bill Clinton admits 'terrible'
mistake in forcing Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons in 1994 - and
Putin would not have attacked if they still had them
The former president suggested Kyiv should have kept its atomic deterrent Speaking to Ireland's RTE, Clinton said Putin had long planned to invade Ukraine
He also took a swipe at Republicans seeking to end aid to the war-torn
country
By JAMES FRANEY, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 12:41 EDT, 5 April 2023 | UPDATED: 13:33 EDT, 5 April 2023
View comments
Bill Clinton has confessed that he made a 'terrible' mistake in forcing
Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons in 1994.
The disgraced former president, whose term in office was marred by a sex scandal with a White House intern, demanded Kyiv surrender its atomic
arms in a deal with Moscow.
But in a rare show of humility, Clinton admitted Russia's illegal
invasion would never have happened if the Ukrainians had been allowed to
keep their nuclear deterrent.
The 42nd president of the United States now admits he was wrong to
insist that a once-again independent Ukraine should surrender its
Soviet-era stockpiles
+4
View gallery
The 42nd president of the United States now admits he was wrong to
insist that a once-again independent Ukraine should surrender its
Soviet-era stockpiles
'I feel terrible about it because Ukraine is a very important country
and I feel a personal stake because I got them to agree to give up their nuclear weapons,' he told Irish network RTE.
TRENDING
Vladimir Putin fires top Russian general behind massacre in Vuhledar
40.4k viewing now
Putin shrugs as Lukashenko tells him he looks tired before they hug
8.4k viewing now
Russia is set to deploy more nuclear weapons in the Arctic
3.4k viewing now
'None of them believe that Russia would have pulled this stunt if
Ukraine still had their weapons,' the 76-year-old added.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a once-again independent Ukraine possessed the third-largest atomic arsenal in the world with some 1,900
nuclear warheads.
The international agreement to give them up was struck in January 1994
with then Russian leader Boris Yeltsin.
The deal also included commitments from the Kremlin to respect Ukrainian independence.
But those pledges were first ignored by Vladimir Putin when he seized
Crimea and the eastern Donbas region in 2014.
Clinton said that Putin never planned to stick to the deal agreed with
Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kravchuk, Ukraine's president at the time, in
Moscow
+4
View gallery
Clinton said that Putin never planned to stick to the deal agreed with
Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kravchuk, Ukraine's president at the time, in
Moscow
MThe Russian tyrant dismissed them yet again when he launched his
full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
'I knew that President Putin did not support the agreement President
Yeltsin made never to interfere with Ukraine's territorial boundaries -
an agreement he made because he wanted Ukraine to give up their nuclear weapons,' Clinton said.
'They were afraid to give them up because they thought that's the only
thing that protected them from an expansionist Russia,' he added.
And in a thinly-veiled swipe at would-be Republican nominee Donald
Trump, the two-term ex-commander-in-chief said taxpayers should continue
to back Kyiv's armed forces.
Clinton, seen here at a White House event with Joe Biden in February,
told Ireland's RTE network that Washington should stand by Ukraine and
its bid to expel Russian invaders from its territory
+4
View gallery
Clinton, seen here at a White House event with Joe Biden in February,
told Ireland's RTE network that Washington should stand by Ukraine and
its bid to expel Russian invaders from its territory
Joe Biden's administration has stumped up more than $77 billion in
financial aid to the war-torn country, according to German think-tank
the Kiel Institute for the World Economy
But that has angered some Republican lawmakers who say that those sums
would be better spent at home fighting crime and illegal immigration.
'I think what Putin did was very wrong, and I believe Europe and the
United States should continue to support Ukraine,' Clinton said.
'There may come a time when the Ukrainian government believes that they
can think of a peace agreement they could live with, but I don't think
the rest of us should cut and run on them,' he added.
Earlier this year, Trump said he had an 'easy negotiation' strategy to
end the conflict within 24 hours but refused to be drawn on the details
of his peace plan
+4
View gallery
Trump has hinted that he would force Ukraine to the negotiating table if
the war is not over by the end of next year's presidential election.
'If it's not solved, I will have it solved in 24 hours with (President Volodymyr) Zelensky and with Putin, and there's a very easy negotiation
to take place,' he told Fox News last month.
The real estate mogul, who was charged with 34 felonies in Manhattan on Tuesday, has also said supporting Ukraine is not a vital US strategic
interest.
'That is why Europe should be paying far more than we are, or equal,' he
said.
DailyMail.com has approached the Ukrainian government for comment.
Share or comment on this article: Bill Clinton admits 'terrible' mistake
in forcing Ukraine to give up nuclear weapons
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)