The Ukrainian negotiating group, headed by Deputy Head of the President’s Office Ihor Zhovkova, began the first round of negotiations with France on concluding a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine.

“On instructions from the President of Ukraine and the head of the President’s Office, the first round of negotiations with the French Republic began today on concluding a bilateral agreement on security guarantees, as provided for in the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine,” the press service of the head of the Ukrainian state reports.

It is indicated that the negotiating group also included Deputy Head of the President’s Office Roman Mashovets and First Deputy Minister of Defense Oleksandr Pavliuk.

The report notes that Ukraine has already begun bilateral negotiations with the United States, Great Britain, Canada and Japan, and France has become the fifth state with which relevant negotiations on security guarantees have been launched.

“It is difficult to overestimate the importance of bilateral security negotiations with France as the founding country of the European Union and NATO. We constantly feel the support of France both in the approaching victory of Ukraine and on the path of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of our state,” Zhovkva noted.

It is emphasized that the start of negotiations deepens French support for Ukraine in the military and economic spheres, as well as in security.

“An integral component of security guarantees is also assistance in the development of the military-industrial complex and in the economic restoration of Ukraine. Powerful sanctions and the inevitability of confiscation of the assets of the aggressor country should also be an important element in deterring aggression,” the message says.

Based on the results of the negotiations, the parties agreed on a procedure for coordination on the issue of security guarantees for the near future, as well as a plan for further bilateral negotiations.