US-Ukraine Security Guarantee Talks Begin, Presidential Chief Of Staff Zelensky: We Will Create A Model

Andrii Yermak while accompanying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Wikimedia Commons/Presidentt.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - Ukraine and the United States are starting talks aimed at providing security guarantees for Ukraine, Presidential chief of staff Volodymyr Zelensky said, a follow-up to the G7 countries' pledge at the NATO summit last month.

The G7 nation will compile and respect security guarantees, as well as help strengthen its military, in connection with the 17-month Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Kyiv government sees this talk as a temporary stage, pending access to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance. At a meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, NATO leaders offered support to Ukraine, but ruled out the idea of membership until the war with Russia was over.

Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that the deal reached at Vilnius was "the basis for making appropriate bilateral agreements".

"This is a symbol that the United States - our biggest strategic partner - became the first country to start this process with Ukraine," Yermak wrote.

"Through this process, we will create a successful model for other partners," he said.

The G7 members agreed that each country negotiate an agreement.

Yermak reiterated Ukraine's position guaranteeing "will strengthen Ukraine along the way towards future membership of the Euro-Atlantic community, including NATO and the European Union".

Yermak himself did not say to explain in detail where the conversation took place or who took part.

However, a photo accompanying his post shows him sitting at a table where it appears to be the Ukrainian Presidential Office in the capital Kyiv.