Ukraine and France signed a security agreement

Author:
Oleksandra Opanasenko
Date:

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and French President Emmanuel Macron signed a bilateral security agreement. It will be valid for 10 years and will be valid until Ukraine joins NATO.

This was announced by French President Emmanuel Macron.

France will provide up to €3 billion for Ukraineʼs military needs in 2024.

"Our support is not only long-term. It also has a collective dimension, as the UK has already signed such an agreement, as has Germany. This is the path followed by all the G7 countries, and then by 25 other countries," the French president added.

Zelenskyi also noted that France will provide Ukraine with a new defense package — "the kind that is needed." According to Zelenskyi, there will be shells for artillery, guns, Caesar systems, additional strengthening of air defense.

Within the framework of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine, the French side will play a leading role in artillery and air defense coalitions, as well as participate in air force and maritime security coalitions.

Earlier, Ukraine signed a similar agreement on cooperation between countries in the field of security with Germany and Great Britain. Zelensky emphasized that each of the signed agreements strengthens Ukraine in its own way.

The document provides for a mechanism for emergency consultations in the event of a possible future armed Russian aggression, which is used at the request of any of the parties to the agreement within 24 hours to determine the measures necessary to counter or deter aggression.

In addition, the document enshrines Franceʼs full support for Ukraineʼs goal of joining the European Union and NATO.