VILNIUS, Lithuania: G7 states are expected to ratify a wide-ranging security pact with Ukraine at the Nato summit today (Wednesday).
Earlier, the G7 members stopped short of providing a timeframe for Kyiv to join the security alliance, provoking the anger of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The security arrangement includes defence equipment, intelligence sharing and training as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak said it would send a “strong signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the BBC.
This latest security arrangement with Ukraine transpires following President Zelensky‘s impassioned criticism of NATO’s hesitancy in presenting a clear timeframe for the nation’s admission into the alliance.
G7 leaders are poised to sign the declaration in Vilnius during the sidelines of the second day of the NATO defence summit. In advance of his meeting with President Zelensky, Sunak emphasized that Kyiv’s allies were intensifying their “formal arrangements to safeguard Ukraine over the long term.”
UK officials said the UK had played a leading role in the agreement involving the G7 alliance of Germany, France, Canada, Italy, Japan and the US. More details are expected today.
President of the US, Joe Biden earlier suggested a model for Ukraine similar to his country’s agreement with Israel. Under that deal, Washington has committed to providing $3.8bn in army aid per year over a decade.
But unlike NATO membership, this doesn’t include a clause to come to the nation’s aid during a time of attack.
The G7 comes after NATO said Ukraine could join the army alliance “when allies agree and conditions are met”, a delay President Zelensky called “absurd”.
