U.S. and Ukraine expected to sign long-term G7 security pact

CNN
—

The United States and Ukraine are set to sign a bilateral security pact on Thursday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, people familiar with the matter told CNN. The agreement charts the course for a long-term security relationship between the US and Ukraine but could be scrapped by a future US administration.

The agreement, which follows months of negotiations between the US and Ukraine, is expected to see the US continue training the Ukrainian military over the next 10 years, further cooperate in the production of weapons and military equipment, continue to provide military assistance, and increase intelligence sharing.

But the pledge is expected to be an “executive agreement,” which is less formal than a treaty and would not necessarily be binding on future presidents, the people said.

Former President Donald Trump, who is expected to be the Republican presidential nominee, has not said whether he would continue to aid Ukraine if he wins the November election, saying only that he would negotiate a quick end to Russia’s war with Ukraine, without explaining how. Trump has also called on European countries to increase their defense spending, saying he would “encourage” Russia to “go wild” if Europe did not increase its defense spending.

The U.S.-Ukraine deal does not include a specific financial commitment to help defend Ukraine, two people familiar with the deal said. An annex to the deal will spell out how the Biden administration plans to work with Congress on implementing the security promises, one of the people said, and will specifically outline any long-term funding needed to help defend Ukraine.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that the U.S. commitment to Ukraine “will remain front and center” at the G7, adding: “We support Ukraine’s fight for freedom, but we will take bold steps to show President Putin that time is not on his side and he will not outlast us.”

Kirby said President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet during the summit and the United States is expected to announce steps to lift frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine rebuild after the war ends.

The pledge the US and Ukraine are expected to sign would be similar to 14 bilateral agreements Ukraine already has with other allies, including the UK, France and Germany, and the US-Ukraine agreement would be its 15th.^Number One of the sources said such an agreement has already been signed and that 17 other countries are working on negotiating similar bilateral security pacts with Ukraine.

As part of the agreement, the United States will commit to consulting with Ukraine immediately after any future Russian attack to decide next steps, according to people familiar with the matter. Britain, France and Germany also included provisions calling for such consultations to take place within 24 hours of a Russian attack.

But the bilateral agreement with the United States does not include a mutual defense clause that would require the United States, like Ukraine’s other allies, to militarily defend Ukraine in the event of a new attack. President Zelensky has repeatedly said he welcomes the bilateral commitment but that it is not a substitute for full membership in NATO, which has a mutual defense clause known as Article 5.

The agreement comes as U.S.-Ukraine relations have begun to recover after being stalled late last year and into this year by a congressional fight over additional U.S. financial aid for Ukraine. Biden personally apologized to Zelenskiy during a meeting in Paris last week.

Biden also recently agreed to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied weapons to attack Russia directly, a major shift Ukraine has been seeking for months as Russia launches missile attacks on Kharkiv from just across the border.