State Department confirms start of talks on Ukraine’s security guarantees this week

Talks between the United States and Ukraine on the issue of providing security guarantees to the latter will begin this week, said Matthew Miller, head of the press service of the State Department. briefing.

“These negotiations will begin this week,” he answered the corresponding question from journalists.

Miller emphasized that it would be about long-term commitments to provide security assistance to Kyiv, which are not related to current supplies. The State Department spokesman also said that Washington welcomes the plans of Saudi Arabia to hold peace talks on Ukraine. The United States will send a delegation to participate in it, but its composition is not yet known.

Start of negotiations on security guarantees for Ukraine earlier announced Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the Ukrainian President. According to him, such guarantees will be valid until Ukraine becomes a member of NATO. According to him, the United States can guarantee that it will continue to provide the country with military and financial support, as well as continue to impose new sanctions.

In July, during the summit in Vilnius, NATO member countries agreed on the conditions for Ukraine’s entry into NATO. Kyiv will be sent an invitation to join after all the conditions are met and the unanimous consent of all members of the bloc is reached. As noted, the “formal” conditions for joining the alliance will be softened for Kyiv, which will allow it to shorten the process of joining. There were no clear dates for Ukraine’s entry into NATO. At the same time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had previously stated that Ukraine could not be accepted into the alliance until the end of the conflict. In the Kremlin, similar guarantees called an attack on Russia’s security.

On July 29, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported on Saudi Arabia’s plans to hold peace talks on Ukraine without Russia’s participation. According to the publication, the meeting will be held from 5 to 6 August in Jeddah. It will be attended by the UK, the EU, Poland and South Africa. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is also expected to arrive. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Vedomosti that if Saudi Arabia’s talks on Ukraine help the West “understand the dead end of Zelensky’s plan”, then they will not be useless.