Ukraine to start negotiations on security arrangements with Ireland soon
Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva (photo: Getty Images)
In the near future, Ukraine and Ireland will begin negotiations on a bilateral security agreement, states the Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva.
"I think that in the near future we will start negotiations on security arrangements with Ireland, and we will also have a corresponding deal," Zhovkva said.
He said that on Wednesday, June 19, he met with a delegation from the Irish Foreign Ministry to "discuss Ireland's potential readiness to start negotiations on security assurances."
"Again, this is a neutral country (Ireland - ed.). What security assurances can it provide? It can. Because security arrangements are not just about weapons. It's also about the economy, about sanctions, about making Russian assets work, about establishing a tribunal to punish the aggressor for the crime of aggression, etc.", said the deputy head of the OP.
According to him, Ukraine invites other countries that declare or have such a neutral status, such as Austria or Malta, to join the G7 declaration and conclude relevant agreements.
Zhovkva also said that Ukraine is currently working very intensively with the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, and Romania on security guarantees. In addition, the final round of negotiations with Poland was held today.
"I can tell you some of them (countries - ed.) with which we are already at the final stage of negotiations or negotiations have ended, and we are just looking for an opportunity to sign. These are, for example, two Baltic countries. You know that an agreement has been signed with Latvia, but there is Estonia and Lithuania. These agreements will be ready for signing in the near future," he said.
He also said that on June 19, Ukraine held the next and final round of negotiations on a security guarantees agreement with the European Union.
"This is a general agreement with the EU as an institution that unites 27 countries. I have no right to disclose the content of the agreement, but you will see that it will also be quite powerful and will be concluded very quickly. Let me remind you that the G7 declaration in Vilnius, in addition to the Group of Seven countries, was signed by the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission," the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office added.
Security assurances for Ukraine
Ukraine has already signed 17 agreements on security arrangements with partner countries.
In particular, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently signed such agreements with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Also, according to the President's Office, Ukraine and the European Union have agreed on the text of a security agreement. The agreement will be signed soon.
