On the instructions of the President of Ukraine and the Head of the Presidential Office, the first round of negotiations with the French Republic on the conclusion of a bilateral agreement on security guarantees, as envisaged by the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, has begun today.
The Ukrainian negotiating team was led by Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva. It also included Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Roman Mashovets and First Deputy Minister of Defense Oleksandr Pavliuk.
France became the fifth G7 country after the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan with which Ukraine began bilateral negotiations.
"It is difficult to overestimate the importance of bilateral security negotiations with France as a founding member of the European Union and NATO. We constantly feel France's support both in bringing Ukraine's victory closer and on the path of our country's European and Euro-Atlantic integration," emphasized Ihor Zhovkva.
The launch of bilateral talks with France deepens its continued support for Ukraine in the military, security, and economic spheres. Assistance in the development of the military-industrial complex and in Ukraine's economic recovery is also an integral part of security guarantees. Powerful sanctions and the inevitability of confiscation of the aggressor country's assets must also be an important element of deterring aggression.
The parties agreed on a plan for further bilateral negotiations and a procedure for coordination of security guarantees issues for the near future.