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U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s defenses against a Russian attack.
Officials said the agreement, signed at a Group of Seven meeting of the world’s most industrialized nations in Italy, was intended to commit a future U.S. administration to support Ukraine even if former President Donald Trump wins November’s election.
As the text of the agreement states, this will serve as the framework for long-term U.S. efforts to help develop Ukraine’s armed forces and a step toward Ukraine’s eventual membership in NATO.
“Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s defense and deterrence capabilities in the long term,” President Biden:
President Zelensky called the agreement historic for his country.
Zelensky has long sought to join NATO, but the allies have yet to take that step. Under Article 5 of the NATO treaty on collective defense, the Western alliance considers any attack on one of its 32 members an attack on all.
“Both sides acknowledged that the agreement is a bridge to Ukraine’s eventual entry into the NATO alliance,” The article says. / Voice of America
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