(Dan Tri) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Kiev and Washington have begun discussing a bilateral security cooperation agreement.
US President Joe Biden (left) and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: Reuters).
`Our teams, Ukraine and America, have started working on a bilateral security agreement,` President Zelensky said in a speech on the evening of April 22, adding that this could be a
President Zelensky’s statement came after a phone call with US President Joe Biden.
Mr. Zelensky also confirmed that the plan to send more long-range missiles to the Ukrainian armed forces has been completed.
Ukraine has signed several 10-year security agreements with NATO member countries, which clearly state the West’s long-term support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s military campaign.
Although the agreements signed with NATO countries such as Britain, France and Germany are not mutual defense treaties, they have considerable symbolic importance.
The agreements demonstrate the West’s commitment to support Ukraine militarily, politically and financially in the face of Russia’s military campaign, now in its third year.
The Ukrainian government is negotiating a series of treaties aimed at promoting relations with Western countries until Kiev is granted full NATO membership.
President Zelensky expressed disappointment after the US and its allies focused their efforts on defending Israel against a major attack by Iran, while also highlighting the limits of Western support for Kiev.
Mr. Zelensky said that Ukraine also needs protection like Israel, which is not a member of NATO.
Article 5 of the NATO Charter is the provision on collective defense.
Mr. Andrey Yermak, Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine, said last week that Kiev wants security guarantees from the West similar to the level of protection that the US has provided to Israel.
However, Western officials made it clear that Ukraine should not expect the type of intervention that the West extended to Israel during Iran’s recent airstrike.
Western experts say that because the opponents of Israel and Ukraine are two different countries, the reaction of the US and its allies in the two cases is understandable.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron warned that bringing NATO forces into direct conflict with Russian forces would be a `dangerous escalation`.
The West has provided military aid to Ukraine since the early days of the conflict.