Constitution, Ukraine’s EU membership aspirations, and our European commitments are "red lines" in negotiations with U.S. on subsoil deal – Shmyhal
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine has its own "red lines" regarding the conclusion of a subsoil deal with the United States, including the Constitution, Ukraine's aspirations for EU membership, and our European commitments.
According to Censor.NET, citing European Pravda, Shmyhal said this at a joint briefing with European officials on the occasion of the April 9 meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council.
Thus, when asked about the negotiations with the United States on the subsoil agreement and the "red lines" for Ukraine, Shmyhal emphasized: "Of course, we have red lines."
"First, it is our Constitution. Secondly, it is our aspiration for EU membership and our European commitments. It is also international law. We also understand that this should be a partnership agreement with equal conditions for both parties," the Prime Minister said.
According to him, Ukraine is currently forming a technical-level delegation and cooperating with international law firms.
"At the end of this week, we will send our delegation to the United States with a lawyer. And I think the technical negotiations will continue this weekend and next week, and then we will see the results... We are optimistic," Shmyhal added.
At the end of March, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy intended to withdraw from the rare earth metals agreement.
On March 23, Kyiv received a new draft agreement from the U.S. side concerning control over Ukraine’s critical mineral resources and energy assets. However, the United States has not offered Ukraine any security guarantees and is said to be "aggressively expanding its previous demands."
Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko confirmed that the new version of the agreement had been received. According to her, the Ukrainian side is reviewing the document and will seek to reach a consensus with its American partners.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) to investigate the leak of information related to the latest U.S. proposal on the minerals agreement.
