Ukraine already has foundation for security guarantees through bilateral agreements – Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Armed Forces of Ukraine will form the backbone of the country’s security-guarantee system.
He made the statement at a press conference in Denmark, Censor.NET reports.
"As for security guarantees, we are already working within the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ and bilaterally with partners on concrete guarantees. We already have a strong foundation in the form of bilateral agreements, including with Denmark.
"We share the view that Ukraine’s future security must include guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5. Today we discussed this in detail, as well as the possible contribution of each country," the president said.
According to Zelenskyy, the next step is to fill this framework with specifics, who does what on land, in the air, at sea and in cyberspace.
"Of course, our Armed Forces will be the core of this system, large enough to withstand Russia, which means weapons and financing, and we are working on that. We also have signals from the United States that they would be ready to provide a certain backstop mechanism. This is very important," he added.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Western countries are continuing talks on providing security guarantees for Ukraine from friends and partners, including the United States, Europe and others.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said work on security guarantees is ongoing, but their implementation would require a peace agreement.
According to opinion polls, 75% of Ukrainians believe Ukraine should agree to a ceasefire only if there are international security guarantees.
