US, Ukraine To Sign 10-Yr Security Agreement At G7, Zelenskyy-Japan Sign Similar Pact On Summit’s Sidelines

As the countries gather to attend the G7 Summit in Italy, Ukraine is all set to sign a 10-year bilateral security agreement with the United States. On the sidelines of the G7 Summit, Kyiv has also signed a 10-year security agreement with Japan, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed in a post on X.

This comes after Zelenskyy and Biden’s recent meeting on June 7, where the latter apologised to Kyiv for holding up military aid.

Kyiv has signed fifteen bilateral security agreements with several countries including with the UK, France, Germany and Italy since the war broke out with Russia in 2022.

US-Ukraine’s 10-Year Security Agreement

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, are slated to sign a 10-year bilateral security agreement at the G7 summit. Zelenskyy has described the deal as “unprecedented”.

Contrary to the other bilateral agreements, the pact with the US will not require America to stand up for Ukraine’s defence, if and whenever it is attacked. However, it could make it easier for Ukraine to carry out peace negotiations with Russia, as it would be assured about receiving help incase of a further attack by Russia, the Guardian reported.

Also, the agreement does not need Congress’s authorisation and could be undone by a future Trump administration as well, the report added.

Biden has previously stated that the guarantees for Ukraine would be equivalent to Israel’s, including financial and military aid, in addition to the possibility of the joint weapons production.

Zelenskyy and Biden will be holding a press conference shortly, where the differences  regarding a timetable for Ukraine’s NATO membership and the introduction of foreign military trainers inside Ukraine, are expected to be discussed.

The bilateral agreements have been viewed in Ukraine as a stopgap on its road to joining NATO.

“The document with the United States will be unprecedented, as it should be for leaders who support Ukraine,” Zelenskiy said.

Ukraine Signs Bilateral Deal With Japan 

Ukraine and Japan signed a 10-year security pact on Thursday on G7 Summit’s sidelines.

Sharing about this, Zelenskyy wrote on X, “In 2024, Japan will provide Ukraine with $ 4.5 billion and will continue to support us throughout the agreement’s entire 10-year term.”

He also added that the deal envisages assistance in security and defence, apart from technical, humanitarian, and financial cooperation.

Zelenskyy also thanked Japan for its dedication towards protecting the international law and for its “unwavering solidarity”.

“For Japan, this type of agreement and this level of support is a breakthrough. We see this and thank Japan for its unwavering solidarity with our country and people, as well as for its dedication to protecting life and international law,” Zelenskyy tweeted.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida @kishida230 and I have just signed a security agreement between Ukraine and Japan. A unique document with one of the world’s most economically and technologically advanced countries. 🇺🇦🇯🇵

In 2024, Japan will provide Ukraine with $4.5 billion…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 13, 2024

‘This Agreement Will Send Signal Of Resolve To Russia’: Sullivan

The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, while previewing the US-Ukraine bilateral agreement, said: “By signing this, we’ll also be sending Russia a signal of our resolve. If Vladimir Putin thinks that he can outlast the coalition supporting Ukraine, he’s wrong. He just cannot wait us out, and this agreement will show our resolve and continued commitment.”

“Through this agreement, we’re also securing commitments from Ukraine on reforms and on end-use monitoring for weapons we provide,” he added.

Sullivan further emphasised that Ukraine undertook lessons for the US military, which included the use of drone warfare.

He also stated that deepening cooperation with Kyiv would “benefit the US from it’s insights and experience, its battlefield innovations and its lessons learned from the front.”