Zelenskyy: Deal with US will not be signed if it threatens Ukraine's accession to EU

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine will not sign an agreement on mineral resources with the United States if it poses a threat to the country’s accession to the EU.

Source: Zelenskyy at a press briefing on Friday 28 March, as reported by European Pravda.

Details: The president stated that the Ukrainian side officially received a draft of the mineral resources agreement from the US today.

Quote: "Officially, and this is important, the Ukrainian side – namely the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and my Office – officially received a note today with a draft or proposals from the US.

Yuliia Svyrydenko [Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy] is in bilateral contact with US Treasury Secretary Bessent, but it is necessary to compare whether this is the same agreement.

I asked her some questions. She said it is very difficult to comment because this is a completely different document, with many new provisions that were not previously discussed, as well as some aspects that had already been rejected by both sides." 

Details: Zelenskyy emphasised the need for "a concrete legal review at the highest level". "Let them compare all these agreements – there are already many – and I will consider the one that our side has officially received," he noted.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would not sign the agreement if it threatened the country’s accession to the EU.

"The Constitution of Ukraine clearly states that our course is towards the EU… There are very important reforms and corresponding steps. Nothing that could endanger… Ukraine’s accession to the EU can be accepted," Zelenskyy stated.

He added that he would consider the agreement "when there are no relevant legislative threats in it".

Background:

• Earlier, European Pravda reported that the new text of the US mineral resources agreement could contradict Ukraine’s EU accession plans due to strict restrictions significantly affecting Ukraine’s economic sovereignty.
• Additionally, the Trump administration reintroduced a clause into a proposed agreement on Ukrainian subsoil resources that obliges Ukraine to repay the full amount of US aid provided since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

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