ATHENS

Italy will soon finalize a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, the country’s foreign minister said Thursday.

Speaking at the Italian parliament’s Joint Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani said: “I am here to inform you about the willingness to continue negotiations for a cooperation, security and defense agreement with Ukraine, which the prime minister (Giorgia Meloni) will finalize in the next few days.”

“The agreement we are discussing reaffirms the territorial independence of Ukraine and condemns Russian aggression and gives a more structured form of our commitment to Kyiv,” he added, according to the state-run ANSA news agency.

According to Tajani, the agreement is political and symbolic to send a clear message in favor of the defense of international law.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that his country is preparing for new security agreements with its partners, as the conflict with Russia is about to enter its third year.

Since the start of the year, Ukraine has signed 10-year security agreements with the UK, France, and Germany to deepen defense cooperation and support for the country.

The agreements follow a G7 declaration at a NATO summit last July that it is launching negotiations with Kyiv to formalize its "enduring support" for Ukraine through "bilateral security commitments and arrangement,"​​​​​​​