Vilnius: The G7 members will on Wednesday ratify a long-term security arrangement with Ukraine at the ongoing NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The G7 announcement came after the military alliance said that Ukraine could join the NATO only “when allies agree and conditions are met”, the BBC reported.
In a statement, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the arrangement, which will defence equipment, training and intelligence sharing, will send a “strong signal” to Russian President Putin.
Sunak said the war-torn nation’s allies were ramping up their “formal arrangements to protect Ukraine for the long term”.
“We can never see a repeat of what has happened in Ukraine and this declaration reaffirms our commitment to ensure it is never left vulnerable to the kind of brutality Russia has inflicted on it again,” the BBC quoted the Prime Minister as saying.
Downing Street said the UK had played a leading role in the agreement involving G7 partners Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden had suggested a model for Ukraine similar to his country’s agreement with Israel, under which Washington has committed to providing the Jewish state $3.8 billion in military aid per year over a decade.
But unlike NATO membership, this does not include a clause to come to the target nation’s aid during a time of attack, the BBC reported.
Although Ukraine accepts it cannot join NATO while it is at war with Russia, the country still wants to join as soon as possible after fighting ends.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the delay “absurd”.
Addressing crowds in the Lithuanian capital, Zelensky said: “NATO will give Ukraine security — Ukraine will make the alliance stronger.”
He also presented a battle flag from the destroyed city of Bakhmut — the site of the longest and bloodiest battle in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, a series of military packages for Ukraine were also announced as the Summit opened.
A coalition of 11 nations will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly US-made F-16 fighter jets at a centre to be set up in Romania in August, officials said.
(IANS)
