Ukraine preparing new security agreements and expansion of Drone Deal, Zelenskyy says
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (facebook.com/zelenskyy.official)
Ukraine is preparing new bilateral security agreements, as well as an expansion of the Drone Deal format, according to a statement from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Head of State reported on the results of a briefing by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (RNBO) Rustem Umerov regarding work with the Middle East and Gulf region, as well as other countries facing security challenges due to the war in Iran.
The President noted that tasks related to Europe were also discussed following visits to Germany, Norway, Italy, and the Netherlands.
"Only with Ukraine’s security experience can Europe’s defense be truly reliable. We are also preparing new bilateral security agreements. In the near future, we will present initial information on the expansion of our security cooperation and the Drone Deal format," his statement said.
Zelenskyy said that Umerov held talks with representatives of India and Bahrain, and the parameters of security cooperation with these countries are currently being worked out.
"Based on the concrete experience of our expert teams in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, we are preparing to strengthen certain areas of bilateral cooperation, and there is a clear understanding of what exactly and through which steps needs to be reinforced as a priority," the President noted.
What is known about the Drone Deal
The Drone Deal format was initially proposed by Ukraine to the United States as an option to strengthen air defense. It involved an exchange of Ukrainian drone defense technologies for American systems to counter ballistic missiles.
However, despite interest from US President Donald Trump and the American military leadership, no final decision on implementing this initiative has been made so far.
Later, Ukraine began expanding the circle of potential partners. In particular, Italy has already expressed interest in signing such an agreement, and the parties agreed to work out the possibility of concluding it.
In addition, Zelenskyy said that Kyiv is negotiating the expansion of the Drone Deal program to new regions, hinting that the Caucasus may be among them.
