Zelenskyy, Macron sign security deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and
French President Emmanuel Macron signed a 10-year bilateral security
cooperation agreement in Paris on Feb. 16.
During their joint press briefing, Macron welcomed Zelenskyy to Paris and noted this was the third visit by the Ukrainian president since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“Today, I want to convey our admiration and our strong resolve to continue supporting Ukraine—both current and in the long term,” said Macron.
“Our support, as firm as it was at the beginning of the invasion, will only strengthen. This spirit informed the security cooperation agreement we signed today, specifying the obligations we undertook with the G7 countries at the NATO summit in Vilnius last July.”
“Our support is not only long-term but also collective, as the United Kingdom and Germany have already signed similar agreements. All G7 countries are following this path.”
The French president added that the agreement, designed to last for 10 years, would remain effective until Ukraine joins NATO. France also committed to allocating an additional EUR 3 billion ($3.2 billion) for Ukraine's military needs in 2024. The agreement is meant to reinforce Ukraine's defense capabilities, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
During the briefing, Zelenskyy said that the agreement firmly and principally supported Ukraine's NATO membership. The document also covers sanctions against Russia, accountability for Moscow’s political leadership, and cooperation between Ukraine and France in areas such as cybersecurity, intelligence, and counterintelligence, and protecting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure from Russian attacks.
Earlier on Feb. 16, Zelenskyy visited Berlin, where he and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz signed a similar security deal.
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