“Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed a bilateral security agreement on Friday, January 12, 2024.
The document entitled “Agreement on Security Cooperation between Ukraine and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” was signed by the leaders of the two countries after negotiations at the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv.
This agreement was the first among security treaties to implement the agreements agreed upon during the Vilnius NATO summit between Ukraine, members of the Group of Seven and the states that joined them.
The UK's obligations under this document will remain in force until Ukraine joins NATO, President Vladimir Zelensky said after signing."
This is a great step to revive the international security system. As you know, after the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine was the third country in terms of nuclear weapons, and voluntarily renounced its possession in exchange for an international treaty ensuring its security and integrity, which was called the “Budapest Memorandum.” It was signed by four countries: Ukraine, Russia, Great Britain and the USA. What happened in 2014 - you all know very well - one of the signatories grossly, and not for the first time, violated its international obligations. In the end, it turned out that this document turned out to be a simple piece of paper that did not provide anything... And after 2022, the world realized that a new concept and systems of counterbalances and deterrence were needed. This is what we are seeing now!