People walk on the street after the first snowfall of this winter in Kiev, Ukraine, Nov 22, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

KIEV — Ukraine and Italy have launched consultations on providing security guarantees for Kiev, the Ukrainian presidential press service said Tuesday.   

A bilateral agreement on the security commitments to Ukraine by Italy will be based on the Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine adopted by the Group of Seven (G7) in July, it said.

The parties discussed approaches to the content and format of the future bilateral agreement, and agreed on a schedule for further communication

The provision of the commitments will be an important step towards Ukraine's membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said Ihor Zhovkva, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office.

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During the first round of talks, the parties discussed approaches to the content and format of the future bilateral agreement, and agreed on a schedule for further communication.  

Ihor, who also led Ukraine's negotiating team, said that Kiev has already started bilateral talks on security guarantees with all G7 countries.

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The Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine is a framework document on long-term security commitments for Kiev, which was adopted by the G7 countries at the NATO summit in Lithuania in July.