Bill Clinton says he regrets his role in Ukraine's nuclear disarmament

Former US President Bill Clinton has expressed regret in an RTÉ interview about his role in persuading Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons in  1994.

"I feel a personal stake because I got them [Ukraine] to agree to give up their nuclear weapons. And none of them believes that Russia would have pulled this stunt if Ukraine still had their weapons," he said.

In December 1994, Bill Clinton signed the Memorandum of Security Assurances in connection with Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons on behalf of the United States. The signatories - Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom - pledged to respect Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and existing borders.

In 2014, Russia violated these agreements by occupying Crimea. 

"I knew that President Putin did not support the agreement President Yeltsin made never to interfere with Ukraine's territorial boundaries... When it became convenient to him, President Putin broke it and first took Crimea. And I feel terrible about it because Ukraine is a very important country," Clinton added.

He also said that the West's support for Ukraine should remain unwavering.

"I think what Mr Putin did was very wrong, and I believe Europe and the United States should continue to support Ukraine. There may come a time when the Ukrainian government believes that they can think of a peace agreement they could live with, but I don't think the rest of us should cut and run on them," he added.