Inside Shell Bay, the Witkoff Group’s exclusive private members’ club in South Florida, delegations from Washington and Kiev square off for “tough but very constructive” negotiations over a flog of Ukrainian borscht (beet and cabbage soup), which one attendee told me “has a lot of meat in it.”
But the offering, along with the traditional meat and cabbage roll Khorbtsi, was seen as a welcome nod to Ukrainian culture and a deft diplomatic gesture as the United States seeks to persuade Ukraine to compromise in a peace deal with Russia.
A person with direct knowledge of the Florida talks, which involved Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, told CNN that the intensive talks are a “step forward” and “build on progress in Geneva,” where the first round of talks on the U.S. proposal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine was held last week.
“It’s very premature to say we’ve finalized everything here because there’s still a lot of work to do,” a source told CNN.
“However, the talks were very focused and the most problematic aspects of the peace plan were discussed in detail,” the official added, suggesting tentative progress could be made in some areas.
One of the most “problematic aspects” of the original 28-point US peace proposal was the provision for Ukraine to formally renounce its constitutional aspirations to join NATO. This is Russia’s main demand to end the war, and one that Ukrainian officials continue to reject.
But CNN sources now say negotiators have discussed a possible scenario in which Ukraine would be effectively barred from joining the US-led Western military alliance, with a deal that would require direct negotiations between NATO members and Russia.
“Ukraine will not be forced, in a legal sense, to formally reject this desire,” the source told CNN.
“But if there is something that the United States needs to agree with Russia bilaterally, or if Russia wants to get some guarantees from NATO multilaterally, that does not involve involving Ukraine in the decision-making process,” the official added.
A final decision on the highly sensitive compromise, which is likely to be unpopular among NATO members, has not yet been taken and will ultimately be taken by Ukraine’s president, sources stressed to CNN.
But as U.S.-Ukrainian negotiations progress and Mr. Vitkov travels to Moscow for talks in the Kremlin, there are indications that creative solutions are being sought to tiptoe around Kiev’s red line.
Another such problematic area is the Kremlin’s demand, included in the US 28-point peace plan, to hand over to Ukraine territory in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that has been annexed by Russia but not yet conquered.
The U.S. plan suggests the area, which is considered critical to Ukraine’s security and includes a heavily defended “fortress zone” of towns and cities, will become a Russian demilitarized zone, controlled by the Kremlin but without the use of military force.
A person with direct knowledge of the negotiations told CNN that discussions are progressing on this issue, which is one of the most controversial issues in the negotiations.
“The idea of relinquishing control to Russia would significantly weaken Ukraine’s defenses, make it more susceptible to further potential aggression, and significantly reduce Ukraine’s capabilities, but this is out of scope,” the official told CNN.
“But that does not mean that there are no potential ways to uphold constitutional provisions and maintain Ukraine’s security,” the official added.
However, the official declined to say what specific options were being considered, saying the issue was “too sensitive.”
“I truly believe that if this becomes public, it could undermine any potential resolution,” a source told CNN.
Other spoilers may be revealed in the coming days. That is the Kremlin, which has so far refused to rein in its extremist demands to conquer Ukraine before ending the war.
With U.S. negotiators hinting at a Ukrainian compromise, the next big challenge in U.S. shuttle diplomacy may be getting Russia to accept it.
