Ukrainian parliament terminates major economic deal with Russia

Ukraine's parliament voted on Thursday to suspend the country's investment promotion and protection agreement with Russia. The Verkhovna Rada approved the motion with 274 votes in favor, according to Yaroslav Zheleznyak of the Golos party.

The decision enters into force on the day following its publication.

The intergovernmental agreement on the promotion and mutual protection of investments was signed in November 1998 and ratified by the Verkhovna Rada in December 1999. At the international level, it established the obligations of states regarding the treatment of investors and their investments, as well as mechanisms for settling disputes arising on their basis.

Ukraine decided to terminate the agreement due to a fundamental change in circumstances, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

The agreement stipulates, in particular, that investments made in the territory of the other party cannot be expropriated or nationalized. Russia repeatedly violated these provisions after 2014, when it started a war against Ukraine.

The existence of this agreement allowed Naftogaz of Ukraine to sue Russia for $5 billion for confiscated assets in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

At the beginning of July, Ukraine also terminated the main trade agreement with North Korea.