July 12 (UPI) — Leaders of the Group of Seven countries Wednesday voiced their collective support for Ukraine as it continues to push for NATO membership.
Wednesday’s G7 statement declared the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States are seeking to “formalize our enduring support to Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty and territorial integrity, rebuilds its economy, protects its citizens, and pursues integration into the Euro-Atlantic community.
“We will each work with Ukraine on specific, bilateral, long-term security commitments and arrangements,” they said.
The group reiterated its economic and military support for Ukraine, including continued shipments of weapons and other equipment as well as training. It also mentions working towards “ensuring a sustainable force capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future,” without providing further details.
“We consider Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine to be a threat to international peace and security, a flagrant violation of international law, including the U.N. Charter, and incompatible with our security interests. We will stand with Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression, for as long as it takes.”
G7 members will also continue to impose economic sanctions against Russia.
Ukraine and the G7 will also continue intelligence-sharing and cybersecurity capabilities.
The G7 said its member states will begin discussions with Ukraine immediately towards reaching formal agreements.
The statement comes against the backdrop of the current NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also there and is set to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders from Canada, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Japan.
Biden said in a joint news conference that the leaders of the nations were not waiting for the process of Ukraine joining NATO to be completed to “make the long-term commitments that we’re making to Ukraine’s security.”
“We’re going to help Ukraine build a strong, capable defense across land, air and sea from which … will be a force of stability in the region and deter against any and all threats,” he said.
Zelensky described the commitment as “an important package of security guarantees.”
“Today, we are coordinating with the G7 countries the framework for security guarantee that shall be further extended through arrangements with our key partners, bilateral and multilateral agreements,” he said.
