Zelenskyy: Ukraine not to agree to enshrine neutral status in constitution

Ukraine will not agree to enshrine a neutral status in its Constitution, as such a status would not provide the country with long-term security guarantees, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalists, according to Report"s Eastern Europe bureau.

Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine was already outside NATO and questioned what security guarantees neutrality could provide in the long term.

Ukrainian president said that if neutrality simply meant not being a member of NATO, Ukraine was already in that position, and asked what would serve as a long-term security guarantee for the country under such an arrangement.

He added that Russia would be mistaken if it believed Ukraine would not join the European Union (EU).

Ukrainian leader also pointed out that Ukraine would become an EU member and stressed that the country would not amend its Constitution to formally establish neutrality.

According to him, the United States has, for the first time, raised the issue of Ukraine"s potential NATO membership in exchange for a withdrawal from Donbas.

Zelenskyy said that discussions with partners were focused on a comprehensive security package that could be offered to Ukraine.

Ukrainian president added that if the United States and other NATO partners endorsed such proposals, he would bring the issue before Ukrainian society for discussion.

He stressed that he could not take such a decision unilaterally.

At the same time, Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of clearly defining what security guarantees for Ukraine would entail and how they would function in practice.