United States President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a “historic” 10-year bilateral security agreement on Thursday to strengthen Ukraine’s defence against Russian invasion.
The two leaders signed the agreement on the sidelines of the G7 conference in Italy. The agreement binds future American governments to supporting Ukraine, even if Republican candidate Donald Trump wins the November’s election, Reuters reported.
During a joint press conference with Zelenskiy, Biden stated: “Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s credible defence and deterrence capabilities for the long term.”
He said the G7’s message to Russian President Vladimir Putin is “You cannot wait us out. You cannot divide us.”
In addition, the G7 countries also agreed to a $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by profits from frozen Russian assets.
Hailing the agreement as historic, Zelensky said the deal was a framework for a long-term effort to help develop Ukraine’s outdated armed forces and serve as a step towards Ukraine’s eventual NATO membership.
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