Zelenskyy, British Foreign Secretary discuss partnership agreement, further support for Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Wednesday, February 5, the press service of the head of state said.
As stated in the statement, Zelenskyy thanked the UK for all defense, financial, humanitarian and political support from the first days of full-scale Russian aggression.
"We are grateful to you, Prime Minister Starmer and the government. In particular, for his visit to us and the signing of a very important, historic agreement on a hundred-year partnership in various areas," the president said.
The parties, in particular, discussed the implementation of this agreement, as well as other formats of assistance both at the bilateral level and within the framework of multilateral mechanisms.
"This defines our commitment to you not only for the period of this war, but also much further, based on our military, humanitarian and economic cooperation for the benefit of our countries," Lammy said.
Separately, Zelenskyy said financial assistance for the development of Ukrainian defense production, which is critical for strengthening Ukraine's position on the path to establishing a fair and lasting peace. In particular, the UK will allocate GBP 2 billion to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities. The corresponding agreement between the governments of the states was ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Tuesday, February 4.
Another key topic of the meeting was the coordination of steps with partners and security guarantees. The parties also discussed in detail the strengthening of sanctions against Russia, in particular its oil industry and defense industry, and the use of frozen Russian assets in favor of Ukraine.
Lammy said the UK remains one of Ukraine's key partners. "Our assessment is that Putin does not want to negotiate at this time. Therefore, we continue to help you as much as possible while you fight this terrible war, and we call on other partners to do the same," the minister said.