11:50 26.05.2015

Denouncement of defense cooperation agreement with Russia reflects Ukraine's consistent position towards aggressor – official

2 min read
Denouncement of defense cooperation agreement with Russia reflects Ukraine's consistent position towards aggressor – official

The decision of the Ukrainian government to denounce the intergovernmental agreement on military and technical cooperation with Russia reflects the consistent position of Ukraine towards the aggressor and suits the logic behind the decisions of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, First Deputy NSDC Secretary and Head of the interagency commission for military and technical cooperation and export control at the council Oleh Hladkovsky has said.

Commenting on the decision to denounce the intergovernmental agreement on military and technical cooperation with Russia at a cabinet meeting on May 20, he said that the decision was made under the proposal of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine.

"It is not unexpected and it suits the logic of decisions made by the NSDC earlier, including issues regarding military and technical cooperation," he said.

"In the conditions of Russia's aggression towards Ukraine we should not only quickly react, but we also are to revoke bilateral agreements in line with international law," Hladkovsky said, adding that Ukraine's actions on the issue aew consequent: on May 21 the Ukrainian parliament denounced five more bilateral agreements with Russia, including on mutual protection of secret information.

Assessing the risks of fines being imposed by Russia due to the denouncement of the agreement, he said that the prospect of filing claims to court by Russia and its defense enterprises against Ukraine is likely. He said that work to assess the possible claims filed by Russia is being carried out.

Commenting on the possible sources to compensate the losses of Ukraine from the denouncement of the agreement on military and technical cooperation with Russia, he said that the issue of imports replacement is one of the key issues for the successful operation and development of the Ukrainian defense and industrial complex.

Among key ways to overcome the critical dependence of the Ukrainian defense and industrial complex from supplies of Russian spare parts is launching production at own facilities and boosting military and technical cooperation with the West, he said. Along with deepening cooperation with the EU and NATO, the potential of bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and other countries-partners is actively used.

He also said that the hybrid war initiated by Russia is also accompanied by aggressive actions of Russia aimed at pushing Ukraine from the international arms markets.

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