Bulgaria joins G7 declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine
During a meeting on August 16, the Bulgarian government made the decision to become part of the declaration of the Group of Seven on their long-term security commitments to Ukraine.
The government announced that Bulgaria provides political and practical support to Ukraine, "which, by opposing Russian aggression, also makes a direct contribution to protecting freedom, security, and sovereignty of all European member states," Rubryka reports.
"Following this consistent policy, Bulgaria will join the Joint Declaration of the G7 countries in support of Ukraine," the statement said.
Bulgaria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was instructed to inform the public about the decision.
Background
A summit of NATO countries took place in Vilnius on July 11 and 12, one of the main topics of which was Ukraine. In the final communiqué of the summit, published on the Alliance website, the Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Alliance recognized Ukraine's progress on the path of Euro-Atlantic integration and confirmed that Ukraine's future lies with NATO.
NATO Heads of State and Government agreed to drop the requirement for a Membership Action Plan for Ukraine and said they would extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance after "fulfillment of conditions."
The Group of Seven (G7) leaders agreed on the "Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine" on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius. They did not agree on specific "security guarantees" parameters, but their framework and specific bilateral agreements will be signed later.
On August 14, it became known that Greece supported security guarantees for Ukraine and became the 14th country to join the G7 declaration. In addition to Bulgaria, 15 countries have already joined the declaration. Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden also joined the G7 declaration.
In August, Ukraine began negotiations on security guarantees with the United States of America and Great Britain. These guarantees will strengthen Ukraine's progress towards future membership in the Euro-Atlantic community, including the EU and NATO, the ultimate goal and the most reliable security guarantee."
On August 3, Ukraine began negotiations with the United States of America on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees within the Joint Declaration on the support of Ukraine.
"It is symbolic that the United States of America — our largest strategic partner — became the first country with which Ukraine started this process," said the head of the Office of the President, Andrii Yermak, who headed the Ukrainian delegation. "In this way, we are also creating a successful model for other partners."
On August 11, Ukraine started bilateral consultations on security guarantees with Great Britain. "Indeed, after our American colleagues, we started consultations with our friends, partners from Great Britain. This is a country that is one of our main and strategic partners with key support," Yermak said. "Today, indeed, a vital conversation took place. We can already say that such consultations have started with Great Britain."
He added that the goal is to have the first bilateral agreements with countries that will provide security guarantees to Ukraine by the end of the year.
