Ukraine starts discussions on security guarantees with Britain

Ukraine has begun consultations with the United Kingdom on signing a bilateral agreement on security guarantees, the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, said during a telethon.

On August 3, it became known that Ukraine had also started similar consultations with the United States.

"After our American colleagues, we started [consultations] with our friends, partners from the United Kingdom," Yermak said. "Indeed, this is a country that is one of our main strategic partners in terms of key assistance, which has been standing side by side with Ukraine since the first day of the war, namely February 24.

Having not received an invitation to join NATO, Ukraine hopes to ensure its security, among other things, by concluding bilateral agreements that enshrine obligations to help Kyiv in the event of an attack.

The fact that such treaties should be concluded was mentioned in a declaration signed in July after the NATO summit in Vilnius.

The document says that the G7 countries are committed to ensuring Ukraine's defense and security on the basis of long-term bilateral agreements.

Yermak said that 13 other countries had joined the declaration, but did not specify which countries were involved.

On Ukrainian television, Yermak said that Ukraine is seeking to sign the first security guarantee agreements "by the end of this year."

Background. As reported, the United States became the first country to start negotiations with Ukraine on security guarantees.