KIEV, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's presidential decree on ending the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and Russia came into force on Wednesday.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree to enforce a decision of the National Security and Defense Council on terminating the friendship treaty with Russia signed in 1997.
While commenting on the move, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow regrets Ukraine's decision.
The Ukrainian-Russian treaty is a document which fixes the principle of strategic partnership between the two countries.
Under the agreement, Kiev and Moscow pledged to respect the inviolability of each other's borders and to settle disputes peacefully.
Relations between Kiev and Moscow have been deteriorating since early 2014 over Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the two countries have either suspended or terminated 44 out of 451 bilateral treaties between April 2014 and April 2018.
