Analysis by Matthew Chance, CNN
Inside the Witkoff Group’s exclusive Shell Bay private club in South Florida, the Washington and Kyiv delegations squared off in “tough but very constructive” negotiations over Ukrainian borsch, a beet and cabbage soup that, one attendee told me, was “very meaty.”
But its presentation, along with Holubtsi, traditional meat and cabbage rolls, was seen as a welcome nod to Ukrainian culture, a clever diplomatic gesture as the United States tries to persuade Ukraine to accept a peace deal with Russia.
A source with direct knowledge of the Florida talks, which involve US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, told CNN that the intense negotiations were a “step forward” and “built on progress in Geneva,” where a first round of discussions on US proposals to end the Russian war in Ukraine was held last week.
“It would be very premature to say that we have finalized everything here, as there are still many things to do,” the source told CNN.
“But the meeting was very focused and the most problematic aspects of the peace proposals were discussed in detail,” the source added, hinting that tentative progress could be made in some areas.
One of the “most problematic aspects” of the United States’ original 28-point peace proposal was the stipulation that Ukraine will formally renounce its aspiration, enshrined in its constitution, to join NATO, a key Russian demand to end the war and something that Ukrainian officials continue to reject.
However, CNN’s source now says that negotiators have discussed a possible scenario in which Ukraine would effectively be banned from joining the US-led Western military alliance through agreements that would have to be negotiated directly between NATO member states and Moscow.
“Ukraine will not allow itself to be pressured to officially reject, in the legal sense, this aspiration,” the source told CNN.
“But if the United States has something to agree with Russia bilaterally, or if Russia wants to receive some guarantees from NATO multilaterally, then this does not mean involving Ukraine in the decision-making process,” the source added.
A final decision on what would be a highly sensitive compromise, likely unpopular among NATO states, has not yet been made and will ultimately be made by the Ukrainian president, the source emphasized to CNN.
But it suggests that, as negotiations between the United States and Ukraine progress, and as Witkoff travels to Moscow for talks in the Kremlin, creative solutions are being explored to get around Kyiv’s red lines.
Another such problem area is the Kremlin’s demand, also found in the United States’ 28-point peace proposal, that Ukraine hand over territory in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that has been annexed, but not yet conquered, by Russia.
The US plan suggested that the region, which includes a “fortress belt” of heavily defended cities and towns considered crucial to Ukraine’s security, be converted into a Russian demilitarized zone, which Moscow would administer but in which it would not deploy military forces.
The source, who has direct knowledge of the negotiations, told CNN that discussions are also moving forward on this issue, one of the most controversial in the negotiations.
“The idea of ceding control to the Russians, which would significantly weaken Ukraine’s defense and make further potential aggression more likely and significantly diminish Ukraine’s capabilities, is out of the question,” the source told CNN.
“But that doesn’t mean there aren’t potential ways to preserve constitutional provisions and maintain Ukraine’s security,” the source added.
However, the source declined to discuss what specific options are under discussion, saying the issue is “too sensitive.”
“I really think that if it goes public, we could ruin the possible solution,” the source told CNN.
Another key factor could also be revealed in the coming days: a Kremlin that has so far refused to curb any of its maximalist demands to subjugate Ukraine before ending the war.
Amid signs that American negotiators are forging compromises with Ukraine, the next and biggest challenge in America’s shuttle diplomacy may be getting Russia to accept them.
The-CNN-Wire
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