ROME, May 29. /TASS/. The G7 countries are secretly working on a set of "security guarantees" to be offered to Kiev in the event a settlement is reached in the Ukraine conflict, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported on Monday, citing sources.

According to the newspaper, the G7 countries are discussing a "defense mechanism" for Ukraine. The newspaper pointed out that the G7 countries have voiced support for calling a summit devoted to reaching a settlement based on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s "peace formula." However, according to the publication’s sources, the US and the EU are pressuring Zelensky to soften the wording of his plan to make it more "acceptable to the countries of the Global South."

According to the newspaper, Kiev may obtain political guarantees in return, such as the opportunity to begin accession negotiations with the EU. In this regard, the EU summit in December could be decisive, La Repubblica noted.

According to sources, the US wants the conflict in Ukraine to end as soon as possible. Otherwise, the crisis could end up handicapping the re-election prospects of US President Joe Biden, who, together with former US President Donald Trump, will likely be on the ballot in the next US presidential election in November 2024.

At the same time, the newspaper notes that the governments of France, Germany and Italy have no idea how much longer they can count on their voters to continue approving ongoing support for Kiev. According to La Repubblica, those countries supporting Ukraine are running out of political, financial and military resources.