WASHINGTON -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed a new agreement on long-term support for Ukraine finalized at this week's NATO summit in Washington as an "important achievement" and praised the U.S. leadership for its "decisive action" to ensure Ukrainian security.
The conclusion of the so-called "Ukraine Compact" committing the United States and more than 20 countries plus the European Union to help protect Ukraine was announced by U.S. President Joe Biden at a joint press conference alongside other NATO leaders and Zelenskiy at the close of the summit on July 11.
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NATO Summit Ends With Promises To Ukraine, New Scrutiny Of Biden
"This Ukrainian agreement, which we are concluding, takes our relations to a new level," Zelenskiy said. "It is an important achievement for Ukraine and all of us."
"I thank President Biden for his leadership and efforts to ensure that our security cooperation is full of decisive action," Zelenskiy said. "There are 23 strong agreements, and there will be agreements with other countries. And we have a historically important security agreement with the United States."
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He said the agreement had helped Kyiv acquire crucially important air-defense systems to help fight off Russia's ongoing, 28-month-old full-scale invasion.
Twenty-four NATO leaders and Ukraine approved the compact as part of boosted defense and other commitments to Ukraine.
The signatories also pledged to meet "rapidly and collectively" at the highest level in the event of a future attack by Russia on Ukraine after the cessation of the current conflict.
Biden has called the compact a "central part" of the "bridge" on Ukraine's path toward NATO.
"[H]ere today, with all these important people behind me, we take another important step in our collective support for Ukraine," Biden told the press conference. "Last year, the G7 nations...signed on to a declaration to protect Ukraine long term, not just for the duration of this war but beyond, after they win. Twenty-five additional countries quickly joined them and pledged to negotiate and sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine."
Biden said "more countries are finalizing theirs as we speak."
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at the summit that the alliance was “putting in place the foundations for Ukraine to prevail” in its effort to defend itself against Russia and said the alliance “cannot and will not allow this to happen again.”
“Violence and intimidation do not pay,” Stoltenberg said.