Security guarantees for Ukraine must include readiness to fight alongside its forces, French expert says

Stéphane Audrand, an Associate Fellow at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) Security Studies Center, said this in a comment to an Ukrinform correspondent on the sidelines of the Ukraine–France Forum in Paris. “Guaranteeing a country’s security means being prepared to fight for it if it is attacked. When we talk about ‘security guarantees,’ the term often sounds vague. But among allies, it has a concrete meaning,” Audrand said. He cited Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty and Article 42(7) of the Treaty on European Union, which provide for assistance to a member state in the event of armed aggression.