The United States is considering a scenario in which Ukraine would be effectively barred from joining NATO without legally renouncing this aspiration, CNN reports, citing unnamed sources.
According to the outlet, one of the most "problematic aspects" of the peace plan is the requirement for Ukraine to formally renounce its constitutionally enshrined aspiration to join NATO. This remains a key Russian demand for ending the full-scale war.
Sources familiar with the matter told CNN that US and Ukrainian negotiators have discussed a likely scenario in which Kyiv would be effectively prevented from joining the Western military alliance. Arrangements on this matter would be negotiated directly between NATO member states and Moscow.
"Ukraine will not be pushed to officially, in the legal sense, reject this aspiration," one source said. "But if the United States has something to agree upon with Russia bilaterally, or if Russia wants to receive some assurances from NATO multilaterally, then this is not engaging Ukraine in the decision-making process."
The source acknowledged that such a decision may not be popular among NATO members. A final decision on this issue has not yet been made and would ultimately be made by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, though the source provided no further details.
The source described such arrangements as a "creative solution" by the US negotiating team to tiptoe around Ukraine's red lines.
CNN reports that on 30 November, negotiations between the US and Ukraine on a peace plan took place in Florida at the Witkoff Group's Shell Bay private members club. The talks involved US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
A source with direct knowledge of the Florida talks characterized the intensive negotiations as "tough but very constructive" and a "step forward" that "built on progress in Geneva," where a first round of discussions on US proposals to end the war were held last week.
"It would be very premature to say we finalized everything here as a lot of things have still to be done," the source said. "But the meeting was very focused and the most problematic aspects of the peace proposals were discussed in detail."
According to the source, another problematic area involves the Kremlin's demand for Ukraine to surrender territory in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine that has been annexed but not yet conquered by Russia. The US plan suggested the region become a Russian demilitarized zone, which Moscow would administer but not deploy military forces into.
"The idea to give up the control to Russians, where it would significantly weaken Ukraine's defense and make further potential aggression more likely to happen and significantly decrease Ukraine's capability, this is out of the scope," the source said. "But that doesn't mean that there are no potential ways of preserving the constitutional provisions and keeping Ukraine's security."
The source refused to discuss specific options under consideration, calling the issue "too sensitive." "I really believe that if it becomes public, we may ruin the potential solution," the source said.
Following the negotiations, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov stated that the US shares Ukraine's key objectives, while Secretary of State Rubio indicated that these negotiations were not final but noted progress.
