Biden, Zelensky To Sign 10-Year 'Arm & Train' Defense Deal at G7
As they meet on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Italy, President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are planning to sign a deal for long-term US military assistance for Ukraine.
The deal commits Washington to ten years of arming and training the Ukrainian military, and which bolsters the military-industrial complex toward producing more of its own needs for the nation's armed forces. However, given the pledge is an "executive agreement" and not a formal treaty, it can be undone by future American administrations.
CNN previewed of the expected soon to be announced deal, "The US-Ukraine agreement does not make a specific monetary pledge to support Ukraine’s defense, two of the sources familiar with the agreement said."
"An annex in the agreement will lay out how the Biden administration plans to work with Congress on the implementation of the security commitments, one of the sources said, specifically the long-term funding that will be needed to support Ukraine’s defense," the report added.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby had further previewed Tuesday that the US "will continue to be right up front and clear" at the G7, and that Washington "will take bold steps to show Mr. Putin that time is not on his side and that he cannot outlast us, as we support Ukraine fight for freedom."
While the big decade-long security pact will provide "consultations" for Kiev in the event of another future Russian attack on Ukraine, there's nothing in it that legally binds the United States to direct intervention in its behalf in the future.
Despite the continued talk out of Brussels of future Ukrainian membership in NATO, European powers continue to line up their own separate defense pacts with Ukraine.
NATO still wants to "Trump-proof" its future commitments to Ukraine...
Biden meeting with Zelensky at G7 in a few hours to sign historic long-term security agreement.
— Selina Wang (@selinawangtv) June 13, 2024
But possibility of Trump presidency looms large over the summit. Future president could pull out of that agreement, but trying to future-proof American support for Ukraine @GMA pic.twitter.com/5Xy3Je4QjL
"The pledge the US and Ukraine are expected to sign will be similar to the 14 other bilateral agreements Ukraine has already reached with other allies, including the UK, France and Germany," CNN writes.
"The US-Ukraine agreement will be the 15th such deal signed, one of the sources said, and 17 other countries have committed to negotiating similar bilateral security pacts with Ukraine," the report underscores.