U.S., Ukraine sign bilateral security agreement on sidelines of G7

FASANO, Italy, June 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky jointly signed a ten-year bilateral security agreement on Thursday after meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy.

Ukraine agreed to a similar deal with Japan earlier in the day also on the sidelines of the summit, which kicked off on Thursday and will last until Saturday. The agreements announced on Thursday bring the total number of bilateral security agreements that Ukraine has signed since the start of the country's conflict with Russia in 2022 to 17, including those with Britain, France, Germany, and Italy.

Analysts said that the U.S.-Ukraine security agreement could be undone before its term expires, since Biden is expected to face a tough election battle later this year against former President Donald Trump, whose support for Ukraine is not as strong as Biden's.