“Next week, Ukraine will begin negotiations with the United States on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees under the Joint Declaration of Support for our country. These guarantees will be valid until Ukraine becomes a member of NATO,” announced the head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities held in Ivano-Frankivsk.
According to Yermak, the year-long activities of the International Working Group co-chaired by Andriy Yermak and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen resulted in a Joint Declaration adopted by the leaders of the G7 and Ukraine in Vilnius.
As he emphasized, more than ten other countries have already joined this declaration, and new ones are joining almost every week. Ukraine will conclude a system of bilateral agreements with those who have backed the declaration, which will contain specific security guarantees.
"We are already working on bilateral agreements with each of these partners. And I will make a small announcement: we are starting relevant negotiations with the United States next week. Security assurances for Ukraine will be specific and long-term commitments that will ensure Ukraine's ability to win now and deter Russian aggression in the future. These will be clearly described formats and mechanisms of support," said Andriy Yermak.
In July, four more countries joined the G7 declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine. It is currently supported by Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Belgium and Portugal.