BRUSSELS/FASANO, Italy - The Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union announced on Friday that EU ambassadors agreed "in principle" on the negotiating frameworks for the accession talks of Ukraine and Moldova.

The presidency revealed on its official social media account on X that the first intergovernmental conferences will be convened on June 25 when European affairs ministers are scheduled to meet in Luxembourg.

A European Commission spokesperson has said a week ago that both countries had met all the necessary steps for accession negotiations to formally begin.

The 27 EU member states must unanimously agree to start the negotiations, which typically take years to conclude.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky jointly signed a ten-year bilateral security agreement after meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy

Moldova applied for EU membership in March 2022, while Ukraine applied in February of the same year. Both countries were granted candidate status in June 2022. In December last year, EU leaders agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova.

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Meanwhile, defense ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance have adopted a plan that allows the alliance to lead the coordination of security assistance and military training for Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday.

Stoltenberg told journalists after a two-day ministerial meeting at NATO's Brussels headquarters that NATO will oversee training of Ukrainian armed forces at training facilities in allied countries and support Ukraine through the planning and coordination of donations.

The plan, which is expected to involve 700 staff, will consist of a NATO command located at a US facility in Wiesbaden, Germany, and at logistical nodes in the Eastern part of the alliance.

The move means NATO will take over the lead from the US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

"We have to consider the fact that this war could go on for years. We want to have something in place that does not depend on specific persons, ministers, but a structure that works," Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren has said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had earlier threatened to veto the plan but eventually agreed to let other NATO members move ahead if Budapest isn't obliged to take part.

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On Thursday, US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky jointly signed a ten-year bilateral security agreement after meeting on the sidelines of the 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.