Ukraine's NATO membership not included, never was in minerals deal, Zelensky says

A minerals deal that Ukraine and the U.S. are negotiating does not mention Ukraine's potential NATO membership, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 1.

"As for this agreement and the NATO question, there is no mention of NATO in this agreement, and there never was," Zelensky said, confirming earlier reports. "A decision (regarding the deal) will be made in the coming days."

On March 31, a source in the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent that "We are not tying (the minerals deal to NATO), it's a misunderstanding."

Zelensky added that Ukraine’s aspirations to join the EU remain an ongoing topic of discussion. He has previously said that Ukraine would not agree to any minerals deal if it compromised the country’s path toward EU membership.

"As for the EU issue... we are linking it. When we talk about this agreement, it cannot go against... our future accession to the EU, so it is important that nothing should contradict," Zelensky added.

Zelensky said lawyers, rather than government officials, are mainly working on the minerals deal.

"Regarding the new draft of this agreement, which our teams are currently working on, it would be more accurate to say that lawyers are working on it." Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine received the text of the U.S.' expanded deal on mineral resources on March 28.

On March 30, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that Zelensky is looking to back out of a critical minerals agreement with the U.S.

"He's trying to back out of the rare earth deal and if he does that, he's got some problems, big, big problems," Trump said, according to Reuters.

"He wants to be a member of NATO, but he's never going to be a member of NATO. He understands that," Trump added.

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The Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan