US and Ukraine sign 10-year defense cooperation agreement

US President Biden and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, who met on the sidelines of the G7 Leaders' Summit in the Fasano region of Italy, held a joint press conference.

The two leaders, who signed a 10-year defense cooperation agreement between the US and Ukraine at the beginning of the joint press conference, emphasized the importance of the agreement for both NATO's security and Ukraine's defense foundation.

In his speech regarding the agreement, Biden praised the decision to freeze certain Russian financial assets located outside of Russian territory and use 50 billion dollars of these funds in favor of Ukraine, stating that they would be able to help Ukraine more in this way.

"Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine's credible defense and long-term security capability. We want Ukraine to have the means to defend itself against future aggression," Biden assessed, expressing that they would assist the country with weapons, ammunition, and other support without sending American troops.

Biden noted that the defense agreement they signed with Zelenskyy is a commitment to peace and is in accordance with the United Nations (UN) Charter and the principle of national sovereignty.

Emphasizing that they will continue to support Ukraine against Russia's aggression, Biden announced a new package of sanctions against Moscow and stated that they would continue their steps in this direction.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy also thanked the US for the agreement in question and said that with this agreement, the defense cooperation between the two countries would become deeper and more qualified.

At the G7 Leaders' Summit held in Italy, a decision was made to provide 50 billion dollars in loans to Ukraine by the end of 2024, using the interest income from the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia as collateral.

Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine War, Western countries have frozen approximately 300 billion dollars in Russian assets. Approximately 200 billion dollars of this amount is held in European Union (EU) countries.

The frozen assets generate billions of dollars in interest income each year. G7 countries, led by the US, want to use this income to support Ukraine.