NATO could bar Ukraine from membership – CNN

The bloc could reportedly prevent Kiev from joining without forcing it to renounce its accession ambitions as part of a peace deal

NATO could bar Ukraine from joining the bloc without requiring Kiev to formally renounce its accession ambitions, under a scenario discussed by US peace negotiators at the weekend, CNN has reported. 

The report comes after months of Ukraine refusing to meet conditions outlined by Russia and rejecting demands for neutrality, which Moscow has cited as among the key issues of the conflict.

Last month, the US put forward a 28-point plan aimed at ending the fighting. According to leaked versions, the proposal requires Kiev to abandon its NATO ambitions, drop territorial claims, and cap its army at 600,000. Kiev has repeatedly rejected the demands, noting that its NATO membership goal is embedded in the Ukrainian constitution.

According to CNN, an updated US proposal was discussed by delegations from Kiev and Washington – including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and presidential adviser Jared Kushner – when they met in Florida on Sunday. 

The outlet cited a source as saying that the delegations examined an arrangement under which Ukraine would be allowed to keep its NATO ambitions in its constitution, while Russia and members of the US-led military bloc would reach an agreement to prevent Kiev from actually joining.

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“Ukraine will not be pushed to officially, in the legal sense, reject this aspiration,” the source told CNN, adding that the US or NATO states could address Russia’s demands through bilateral or multilateral understandings without involving Kiev.

The CNN source said negotiators had also made progress on the issue of Ukraine withdrawing troops from Russian territories in Donbass, but declined to provide details, describing the matter as “too sensitive.”

Following Sunday’s meeting, Rubio said progress had been made but stressed that “more work” would be required, noting that Russia must be “part of the equation” for any agreement. 

Russia has welcomed Trump’s efforts, saying the initial US proposal could serve as the basis for a settlement. However, President Vladimir Putin has also warned that Kiev and its European backers continue to undermine the process for “their own agenda.” 

Witkoff is expected to meet with Putin in Moscow on Tuesday for talks, the Kremlin has said.

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