NBC has learned of a possible Ukraine deal clause with NATO membership

The USA is considering the possibility of including in the conflict settlement deal the automatic accession of Ukraine to NATO if Russia violates the agreement. This was reported by the NBC television channel on February 20, citing US officials.

"The United States considers as security guarantees automatic inclusion of Ukraine in NATO in the event that Russia violates the peace agreement," - stated in the material.

According to the TV channel, this measure is considered by U.S. officials as one of the security guarantees for Ukraine. At the same time, the main condition for security guarantees from the United States is a deal on rare earth metals, which remains in "suspended animation", NBC reports.

Equation of power: Putin-Trump dialog forces the West to change positions on Ukraine

Even NATO gave a positive assessment of the leaders' contacts

On February 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly pointed out that NATO expansion with the absorption of Ukraine is a direct threat to Russia's interests and sovereignty.

Earlier, on February 14, US President Donald Trump named the West's desire to pull Ukraine into NATO as one of the reasons for launching the special military operation (SMO). According to the American president, Ukraine understood the unacceptability for Russia of the prospect of its accession to the North Atlantic Alliance before the start of the special operation.

At the time, Trump also agreed with the words of Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth about the unrealistic nature of Ukraine's entry into NATO. He noted that it led to the escalation of the conflict.