In the U.S. neither the George H. W. Bush administration nor the Clinton administration was prepared to give a military commitment to Ukraine, nor did they believe the U.S. Senate would ratify an international treaty, so the memorandum was adopted in more limited terms.
Bushe, ani Clintonova administrativa nebyla připravena poskytnout závazek Ukrajině, ani nevěřili, že by senát USA ratifikoval mezinárodní smlouvu, proto bylo přijato jen toto omezenější memorandum.