Ukraine and Italy Start Talks on Security Guarantees

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian presidential press service announced that Ukraine and Italy have launched consultations on providing security guarantees for Kiev.

RELATED:

Ukrainian PM Shmyhal and EU Official Discuss Border Blockade

A bilateral agreement on the security commitments to Ukraine by Italy will be based on the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine adopted by the Group of Seven (G7) in July, it said.

The provision of the commitments will be an important step towards Ukraine's membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said Ihor Zhovkva, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office.

During the first round of talks, the parties discussed approaches to the content and format of the future bilateral agreement, and agreed on a schedule for further communication.

Ihor, who also led Ukraine's negotiating team, said that Kiev has already started bilateral talks on security guarantees with all G7 countries.

The Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine is a framework document on long-term security commitments for Kiev, which was adopted by the G7 countries at the NATO summit in Lithuania in July. 

In a related matter, the Czech Republic's Defense Minister Jan Cernochova on Wednesday announced that her country will extend the training program for Ukrainian soldiers until 2024.

Since the Russian special military operation began in 2022, Czech instructors have trained 3,500 Ukrainian soldiers in their country and 500 Ukrainian Army personnel in Poland.