G7 announces long-term security guarantees for Ukraine but no mutual defense clause

The president of United States, Joe Bidenand the rest of the G7 leaders have announced this Wednesday during the NATO summit “long-term” security guarantees for Ukraine, whose goal is to help the kyiv government build an army capable of defending the country and deterring Russia from a new attack in the future.

The announcement begins a period of bilateral negotiations between Ukraine and each of the G7 members (the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Canada) to specify what these guarantees will consist of. It would be a commitment by these countries to continue providing Kiev with military aid, training for its Army, as well as providing intelligence.

“In particular, it will focus on ensuring that Ukraine has a sustainable fighting force capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future,” said Amanda Sloat, Head of Europe at the White House. “This multilateral declaration will send a significant signal to Russia that time is not on its side“, he added. However, the document does not include a mutual defense clause that forces them to go to war with Moscow, like article 5 of the NATO Treaty.

[La OTAN enfurece a Zelenski al descartar una entrada rápida de Ucrania y poner más condiciones]

“We are committing ourselves to the long-term security and prosperity of Ukraine within the Euro-Atlantic community,” stressed the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which is also participating in the Vilnius summit. Brussels will participate in this process with military and economic aid, with more sanctions against Moscow and assisting Kiev on its path to EU membership.

After showing his anger at the refusal of the Atlantic Alliance to offer him a membership schedule, the president of Ukraine has declared himself satisfied with the guarantees of the G7. “It is a legal document that symbolizes that we have a kind of security umbrella,” he said. Volodimir Zelensky in a joint press conference with Jens Stoltenberg.

However, Zelensky has emphasized that these security guarantees are one more step on kyiv’s path towards NATO and not an alternative to joining the Atlantic Alliance. “The best guarantee for Ukraine is to be in NATO“Said the Ukrainian president, who assures that he understands the reluctance of the Member States because his country is at war.

“Nobody wants a World War, which is logical and understandable,” Zelensky said.

During the second day of the NATO summit in Vilnius, the Ukrainian president held bilateral meetings with the Prime Ministers of Canada, Justin Trudeau; United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak; and the Netherlands, mark rutte; as well as with the German chancellor Olaf Schölz. He also plans a meeting with Joe Biden.

Zelensky has also participated in the inaugural meeting of the newly created NATO-Ukraine Council, a forum for crisis consultations and decision-making on an equal footing. In Vilnius, NATO leaders have reiterated that Kiev’s future lies within the club, but have refused to detail a membership timetable, as requested by the Ukrainian president.

“We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance when allies agree and conditions are met“, reads the declaration unanimously approved by NATO. In the end, the theses of the most cautious countries, Germany and the United States, have prevailed, who want to avoid at all costs that the Atlantic Alliance enters into an open war with the Kremlin.