President of Ukraine

The clauses contained in the G7 Vilnius Declaration will be further elaborated in bilateral security agreements – Andriy Yermak

22 January 2024 - 18:48

The clauses contained in the G7 Vilnius Declaration will be further elaborated in bilateral security agreements – Andriy Yermak

The Agreement between Ukraine and the United Kingdom on Security Co-operation paves the way for signing similar documents with other allies. This was stated by Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"Of course, this agreement has set a certain trend, a level, and I think this is the level that everyone will try to stick to," he emphasized.

The Head of the Office of the President noted that the mandatory clauses that should be included in bilateral security agreements are contained in the Vilnius Joint Declaration of the G7 countries, which was based on the draft Kyiv Security Compact drawn up by an international expert group under the joint leadership of Andriy Yermak and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

"These clauses have already been further elaborated in the agreement with the UK. Of course, it is absolutely crucial for us that this agreement will remain in force until we join NATO. It includes provisions on joint arms production, specifics of financial support, information security, sanctions, and intelligence cooperation. Not just military support. That is, in my opinion, all the factual points that the G7 Vilnius Declaration contained and that have now been further elaborated in the agreement with the UK will be used with other countries as well," explained Andriy Yermak.

He also said that Ukraine had already begun consultations with the U.S. side on a bilateral security agreement.

"America remains our key partner and ally. That is why I believe that the agreement with the United States will have even more (clauses – Ed.). I think it will be even more special. We are working on it," the Head of the Presidential Office added.

Andriy Yermak also emphasized that Ukraine today enjoys the full support of both parties in the U.S. Congress, so the domestic political situation in the United States does not affect the drafting of the security agreement.

"I met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Washington. Then we had meetings together with President Zelenskyy. We came back with positive feelings. We have no impression that the United States' support for Ukraine has changed in any way," he said.

Andriy Yermak noted that, despite the U.S. presidential election, support for Ukraine remains at a very high level.