On July 22, the international working group on security guarantees for Ukraine, co-chaired by Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, held its second meeting.
The participants discussed the draft recommendations regarding future international security guarantees for Ukraine.
The group believes that NATO and Article 5 of the Washington Treaty remain the gold standard for security guarantees. In this regard, the course for membership in the Alliance is enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine. In the interim period, until Ukraine becomes a full member of NATO, the main guarantee will be its ability to deter future aggression and, if necessary, to defend itself and restore its sovereignty, territorial integrity and security.
However, to achieve this, according to the group, an interconnected system of multilateral and bilateral duly ratified agreements between Ukraine and the guarantor states will be needed. The documents, in particular, will contribute to the development and strengthening of the defense forces of Ukraine.
The group’s co-chairman, Andriy Yermak, said: “Ukraine has shown how capable it is of fighting one of the largest armies in the world. On the other hand, the world saw what the Russian Federation is capable of today.”
Therefore, according to him, the system of guarantees should provide as much as possible capabilities for self-defense of Ukraine, as well as comprehensive and full support in the event of both direct aggression and its threat.
The head of the President’s Office said that international security guarantees are extremely important for the post-war reconstruction and further economic development of Ukraine.
“After the war, our country must become guaranteed safe. It is extremely important that all Ukrainian citizens, who were forced to go abroad due to the large-scale expansion of Russian aggression, return. So that investors from all over the world, including, of course, Ukrainian ones, could confidently bring their capital here. We need to drastically increase the level of foreign investments, even compared to the pre-war years,” Yermak said.
According to Rasmussen, “stability in the Euro-Atlantic region is intertwined with the stability and security of Ukraine.”
“If the war in Ukraine is not ended, the whole region and the world will feel its consequences. That is why it is advisable for the international community – not only morally, but also strategically – to resolutely support the security of Ukraine. We are considering previous models, but the guarantee model for Ukraine will be unique and adapted to the specific needs of the country,” he said.
