The BBC is reporting that while in the US, Ukrainian PM Yatsenyuk stated that:
"A country which willingly gave up its nuclear arsenal... and received guarantees from the world's leading countries, finds itself unprotected, one-on-one with a country which is armed to its teeth. If you do not uphold these guarantees… then explain how you will convince Iran and North Korea to give up their nuclear status."
I think that it is a good question and certainly something that Israelis are watching carefully. The Obama administration has removed sanctions from Iran while asking Israel to trust the US amid promises that it will all work out in the end. At the same time the administration is admonishing Israel not to take any action to ensure our security because the US has our back.
With the Palestinians, Israelis are being asked to return to the ceasefire lines (not borders) of 1967 in which the country will be less than 10 miles wide at its narrowest point. The US is offering security "guarantees" to entice Israel to commit national suicide by giving up the Jordan Valley. Based on the Budapest Memorandum and guarantees that were given to the Ukraine in 1994, we will be closely watching how the US and EU react following the upcoming referendum this Sunday in the Crimea.
Even with all of the captured territories, Israel is still smaller than Crimea. Maybe, instead of pressuring Israel and making 10 trips to Jerusalem in the past year, Kerry should have spent some time in Kiev and Moscow?
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