Classified communication line between Kyiv and Moscow to be severed

Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has decided to terminate the Agreement between the Ukrainian and Russian governments on the organisation of a direct classified telephone line between Kyiv and Moscow dated 27 February 1998.

Source: the relevant resolution, submitted to the government by Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology, was adopted on 30 August. The draft document has been seen by Ekonomichna Pravda

Details: The explanatory note to the resolution indicates that it was prepared by the Administration of the State Special Communications Service to implement the action plan for Ukraine’s withdrawal from bilateral and multilateral agreements with the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The Agreement outlines the organisational principles and obligations for establishing a permanent classified telephone connection for confidential negotiations between heads of state and for organising intergovernmental communications.

Fedorov notes that "the Agreement has lost its relevance, as the mechanisms of cooperation outlined in it are not utilised by the parties" and that "fulfilling obligations under the Agreement poses a threat to Ukraine's national interests".

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs will now have to notify the Russian government of the termination of the Agreement.

Support UP or become our patron!