Ukraine and US sign security guarantees agreement
Photo: Presidents of Ukraine and the USA, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden (Getty Images)
The United States of America and Ukraine have signed a bilateral security guarantee agreement for 10 years. The American and Ukrainian leaders, Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signed the agreement on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
More details on this can be found in the RBC-Ukraine material below.
According to Reuters, US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement aimed at strengthening Ukraine's defense against Russia.
According to the text of the agreement, it is intended to be a step towards Ukraine's possible membership in NATO.
"The parties recognize this agreement as supporting a bridge to Ukraine’s eventual membership in the NATO alliance," the text states.
Additionally, in the event of an armed attack or threat of such an attack on Ukraine, the highest officials from the US and Ukraine will meet within 24 hours for consultations regarding the response and to determine what additional defense needs Ukraine requires, the agreement says.
"The United States intends to provide long-term materiel, training and advising, sustainment, intelligence, security, defense industrial, institutional, and other support to develop Ukrainian security and defense forces that are capable of defending a sovereign, independent, democratic Ukraine and deterring future aggression," the document states.
It should be noted that the Ukrainian authorities have been negotiating with Washington regarding the agreement since last year. However, the dialogue was temporarily suspended when the US Congress was unable to pass a bill that provided assistance to Ukraine. Nonetheless, after the bill was eventually approved, discussions resumed.
As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted, Kyiv worked to make this agreement the strongest of all. It involves military, financial, and political support. The head of state also stated that the document with the United States is "unprecedented."
What are security guarantees
Signing bilateral agreements with Ukraine on security guarantees is a de facto confirmation that a particular country undertakes certain assurances. This may include the provision of weapons, financial assistance, cooperation, establishment of joint ventures, and intelligence sharing, among other things.
Such a voluntary basis becomes an obligation for each country that signs these documents. This means that assistance to Ukraine must be on an ongoing basis for the duration stipulated in the agreement. Generally, all agreements are similar, but there are differences in directions. Specifically, Kyiv offers a choice of several directions, and each country secures one or another for itself.
Which countries have already signed security agreements
A year ago, at the NATO summit in Vilnius, the G7 adopted a declaration in support of Ukraine. The document stipulates that partners will work to ensure resilient forces capable of defending our country now and deterring Russian aggression in the future. Specifically, this includes: assistance in the security sector and the supply of modern military equipment; support for the defense-industrial base; training and education of the Ukrainian Armed Forces; and intelligence sharing.
It should be noted that under this declaration, Ukraine has signed agreements with a number of countries, including those in the Group of Seven.
The first country in the world to sign a security cooperation agreement was the United Kingdom. Ukraine also has security agreements with the following countries: Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Finland, Latvia, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. Additionally, according to The Washington Post, a total of 16 more countries have committed to eventually concluding similar agreements.
