Ukraine and US to sign security agreement before Peace Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his US counterpart Joe Biden will sign a bilateral security agreement in Italy on the eve of the Peace Summit to be held on 15-16 June in Switzerland.

Source: Financial Times, citing its sources, as reported by European Pravda

Details: "However, days before the peace summit, Zelenskyy and Biden are expected to sign a bilateral security agreement on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Italy next month," the Financial Times wrote, citing unnamed US officials.

The summit of the Group of Seven leaders is scheduled to take place in Italy on 13-15 June. The sources did not indicate on what day the agreement would be signed.

The Financial Times notes that the agreement was negotiated over several weeks amidst growing tensions between Kyiv and Washington.

A senior government official appointed by Zelenskyy, who spoke to the Financial Times about US-Ukraine relations, said: "We are farther apart than ever since the war started. It is very, very tense".

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's frustration with Joe Biden was revealed in a statement this week when the Ukrainian president chided his US counterpart for his intention to attend a Democratic Party fundraiser in California rather than the Peace Summit in Switzerland. Zelenskyy said it was "not a strong decision".

Several Ukrainian officials said Kyiv's frustration with the lack of US support at the highest level for the Peace Summit initiative is just one of many friction points with Washington and other Western partners.

More than a dozen current and former Ukrainian officials and G7 diplomats in Kyiv who spoke to the Financial Times point to a number of contentious issues.

These include Congress' six-month delay in approving US military aid, the expected lack of significant progress on Ukraine's NATO membership at the Alliance's summit in Washington in July, the Biden administration's ban on Kyiv's use of US weapons in Russia, and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries.

Other strains include the dismissals of Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in February, and Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov this month, as well as divergent visions of how Ukraine can achieve victory and what that victory might look like.

Several members of Zelenskyy's government said they were beginning to be concerned about the methods used by the Ukrainian president to communicate with the US. One noted that Zelenskyy was "very irritated" with Biden, adding they were concerned about "openly provoking" the White House. "Do not bite the hand that feeds you," an unnamed Ukrainian official said.

Background: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated earlier that the future bilateral security agreement with Ukraine would provide for military assistance in various areas and help bring Ukraine closer to NATO membership.

In early May, President Zelenskyy said Ukraine was preparing seven new bilateral security agreements, including with the United States.

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