Ukraine and Lithuania have started work on a bilateral security guarantee agreement, as envisioned in the Joint Declaration on Support for Ukraine signed on 12 July 2023 at the NATO Summit in Vilnius. This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda during Zelenskyy’s visit to the Baltic countries seeking support against Russia’s invasion.
In order to protect itself from future Russian aggression, Ukraine applied to join NATO in September 2022. Some observers expected Kyiv to be invited to the alliance at the NATO Summit in Vilnius, but this did not happen. Instead, the G7 leaders agreed to a Joint Declaration on Support for Ukraine, which includes working on concrete long-term bilateral security commitments and arrangements.
“Last year we reached such a level of G7 relations with Ukraine that it allowed the signing of a declaration on support for Ukraine until our state joins NATO. And now the countries of the world that value international law are gradually joining the principles of the declaration and starting work with Ukraine on bilateral security guarantee agreements,” Zelenskyy said.
He expressed a wish that this agreement with Lithuania, as well as other bilateral arrangements, would become a clear signal to every citizen of both countries about mutual support and assistance.
“As long as we are together, our peoples are protected,” Zelenskyy stated.
Ukraine has currently started consultations on bilateral security guarantees with nine countries – the G7 members, the Netherlands, and Lithuania.
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