G7 countries announce security guarantee framework for Ukraine

Europe, News, US July 13, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Leaders of the G7 nations, the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom, met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Lithuania on July 12, 2023. The G7 leaders penned down a joint framework to protect Ukraine against any future aggression from Russia.

The G7 security guarantee framework for Ukraine comes after Kyiv missed out on attaining a timeline from NATO for its accession to the alliance. The Group of Seven released a joint statement at the end of the meeting saying that “Today we are launching negotiations with Ukraine to formalize, through bilateral security commitments and arrangements aligned with this multilateral framework, in accordance with our respective legal and constitutional requirements, our enduring support to Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

In a joint declaration the G7 countries as well as the European Union, said the measures encompass elements including modern advanced military equipment, training, intelligence sharing, and cyber defense. The declaration is open for any other country to join in the future.

^{Leaders of the G7 nations, the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Lithuania on July 12, 2023. (Image Credit: Twitter/@JustinTrudeau)}

“We intend, in accordance with our respective legal and constitutional requirements, to provide Ukraine with swift and sustained security assistance, modern military equipment across land, sea, and air domains, and economic assistance, to impose economic and other costs on Russia,” the document added.

In return, Ukraine pledged for making improvements in governance measures, including judicial and economic reforms and enhanced transparency. U.S. President Joe Biden said at the signing ceremony for the plan that it was “a powerful statement of our commitment to Ukraine”.

A meaningful, powerful meeting with President of the United States Joseph Biden in Vilnius.

We discussed in detail the situation on the frontline, our capabilities, further long-term defense cooperation, and internal Russian processes given the recent events.

The United States… pic.twitter.com/eowPKL5F8e
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 12, 2023

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged that the G7 security guarantee for Ukraine was not a substitute for its membership in the NATO alliance, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been pressing for.

According to a statement released by the British government, the G7 security assurances set the roadmap for the allies to support Ukraine over the coming years to end the war “and deter and respond to any future attack”.

Russia calls G7 security assistance a “very dangerous” move

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the G7 security assurance framework by saying that “We consider this move to be badly mistaken and potentially very dangerous.”

Peskov added that “By providing any kind of security guarantees for Ukraine, these countries would be ignoring the international principle on the indivisibility of security. By providing guarantees to Ukraine, they would be impinging on the security of the Russian Federation.”

*^{Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov. (Image Credit: Valery Sharifulin/TASS)}*

Peskov also added that Russia could not tolerate anything that threatens its security, and such a move is “fraught with highly negative consequences in the medium, long and even short term”