PRESS RELEASE : Andriy Yermak familiarized the advisors to the heads of state and government of the countries of Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries with the developed recommendations on security guarantees for Ukraine [September 2022]

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 13 September 2022.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held an online meeting of the “Kyiv Initiative” format with the participation of the foreign policy advisors to the heads of state and government of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Andriy Yermak noted the importance of continuing and developing the dialogue in the new format, which was launched in Kyiv on August 22.

He informed the participants of the meeting about the package of recommendations on security guarantees for Ukraine prepared by the International Working Group under the leadership of Andriy Yermak and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

The Head of the President’s Office emphasized that as a result of the war waged by Russia against Ukraine, our state must fully restore its territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders, the post-war recovery and reconstruction of our country must be ensured, and the accession to European and Euro-Atlantic structures must be accelerated.

“In order to successfully implement these tasks, Ukraine must get a guaranteed safety after the war. This means that we should receive reliable international security guarantees for the time period until Ukraine becomes a full member of the EU and NATO,” he said.

The Head of the Office of the President is convinced that it is important to formulate a vision of future security guarantees for Ukraine already now, and the report prepared by international experts provides answers to these questions.

Andriy Yermak emphasized that the security guarantees for Ukraine should outline a number of obligations undertaken by the group of guarantors. They should be binding on the basis of bilateral agreements, but combined in the framework of a joint document on strategic partnership called the “Kyiv Security Compact”.

The Head of the President’s Office noted that the package of recommendations on security guarantees will be used as a basis for further negotiations with international partners regarding Ukraine’s obtaining of effective and legally binding security guarantees. Andriy Yermak is convinced that this is in the interests not only of Ukraine, but also of the entire European continent, primarily Central and Eastern Europe.

He asked the present advisors to the heads of state and government of the Eastern European and Baltic countries to convey the content of the Yermak-Rasmussen group’s report to their leaders.

The participants of the meeting expressed their interest in studying the prepared recommendations and further discussion in order to elaborate positions on the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine.