Zelenskyy heads to Madrid to sign security agreement with Spain, media reports

Photo: Pedro Sanchez and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (president.gov.ua)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Madrid in the coming days to sign a bilateral security agreement with Spain. On behalf of Spain, the agreement will be signed by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, El Pais reports.

According to the agency's sources, the security commitments to be signed by Sanchez and Zelenskyy are similar to those that Kyiv has already signed with the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, and Canada. The purpose of the agreement is to guarantee Ukraine continued military support in the long term and to serve as a bridge until Kyiv can become a full member of NATO and the EU.

Negotiations on the agreement began in early March and have already been completed. It is expected that the agreement will be approved by the Spanish Council of Ministers, but will not be submitted to Congress for ratification, as it does not have the legal status of an international treaty.

The bilateral security agreement between Spain and Ukraine will provide stability and predictability to the military support that Spain already provides to Kyiv through arms supplies, training of more than 4,000 soldiers at the Training and Coordination Center in Toledo, and care for dozens of wounded at the military hospital in Zaragoza.

The pact obliges Spain to provide long-term military assistance, supply weapons, cooperate in training the country's armed forces, promote the development of the Ukrainian defense industry, and exchange information in the field of intelligence and cybersecurity.

Security commitments

Ukraine strengthens its security through a series of bilateral agreements with partners. These agreements, based on general principles, also contain individual commitments tailored to the relationship with each country.

To date, Ukraine has concluded security guarantee agreements with seven EU countries: Germany, Denmark, France, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands, and Latvia. Similar agreements have been reached with Canada and the United Kingdom.

Negotiations on security commitments with the United States are at the stage of active development. Ukraine expects to sign the relevant agreement as soon as possible.