Ukraine has signed a new cooperation agreement with Poland and the United Kingdom as the threat of a Russian invasion looms over the former Soviet republic.
“I am glad to announce that Ukraine, the UK and Poland are starting a new trilateral format of cooperation,” Kiev’s Foriegn Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at a joint press conference with British Secretary of State Elizabeth Truss on Thursday, according to Russian independent news agency Interfax.
The announcement comes two weeks after leaders from the three nations met to discuss greater cooperation amid the looming threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We reiterate that each European State is free to choose or change its security arrangements, including treaties of alliance, and no State can consider any part of Europe as its sphere of influence,” representatives from the three nations said in a joint statement provided by the UK Foreign, Common and Development Office.
The three countries will coordinate on cybersecurity, energy security, and countering disinformation, according to the statement. The UK and Poland also expressed their support for reversing the Russian annexation of Crimea.
The statement said the nations were “fully committed to stand with Ukrainian nation in its efforts aimed at defending Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders,” but stopped short of announcing any military support.
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