This 1997 bilateral treaty established strategic partnership and mutual territorial respect between Ukraine and Russia, collapsing with the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 31 May 1997
- Treaty expiry date
- 31 March 2019
- Renewal interval
- Every 10 years automatically
- Non-extension decree signed
- 19 September 2018 by Petro Poroshenko
- Also known as
- The Big Treaty
By the Numbers
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine and Russia needed a formal framework to govern their bilateral relationship, including the status of borders, territorial integrity, and mutual security commitments in the post-Soviet space.
On 31 May 1997, Ukraine and Russia signed the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership, committing to strategic partnership, inviolability of existing borders, respect for territorial integrity, and a mutual pledge not to use their territories to harm each other's security.
The treaty held for over two decades but collapsed in the context of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, Ukraine declined to renew the treaty; it expired on 31 March 2019, and relations between the two states were eventually severed entirely after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Political Outcome
Treaty established mutual recognition of borders and non-aggression; it expired in 2019 after Ukraine declined renewal following Russian aggression in 2014.