The US is considering a scenario in which Ukraine would actually not have the right to join NATO, although it would not have to legally recognize this.
This is reported by CNN, citing unnamed sources.
As the media notes, one of the most "problematic aspects" of the initial 28-point American peace proposal was the requirement that Ukraine officially abandon its aspirations to join NATO.
However, a CNN source now reports that negotiators have discussed a possible scenario in which Ukraine would effectively be denied the opportunity to join the alliance. This could be done through separate agreements between NATO member countries and Moscow.
"Ukraine will not be pressured to officially, in a legal sense, abandon this aspiration. But if the United States reaches some agreements with Russia on a bilateral level or if Russia wants to get some guarantees from NATO on a multilateral level, then this will not involve Ukraine in the decision-making process," the source told CNN.
A final decision on the potentially highly sensitive compromise — likely unpopular among NATO countries — has not yet been made and will ultimately be up to the Ukrainian president, the source told CNN.
Peace plan for Ukraine
The first version of the peace plan proposed by the United States consisted of 28 points. One of the main provisions concerned territories and provided that Crimea, as well as the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, would be recognized as de facto Russian.
Reuters reported that these points were based on a document that the Russian side gave to the Americans.
Ukraine, the United States, and European partners held a series of talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23. After all the meetings, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced "tremendous progress".
Financial Times sources wrote that the American plan was reduced from 28 points to 19.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the document retained the points on the need to release civilians and prisoners of war on an "all for all" basis and return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. He also confirmed that the plan had been shortened and Ukraineʼs position had been taken into account.
The deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsia, who was part of the delegation, said that the US agreed not to limit the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to 600 000, and the clause on amnesty for potential war criminals was reworked to take into account "complaints of those who suffered in the war".
The most contentious issues have been put on hold, including the issue of territories and relations between the United States, NATO, and Russia. They are to be discussed by Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.