diff --git a/0001-Temporarily-accept-cargo_prep-V-flag-for-spec-compat.patch b/0001-Temporarily-accept-cargo_prep-V-flag-for-spec-compat.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2195780
--- /dev/null
+++ b/0001-Temporarily-accept-cargo_prep-V-flag-for-spec-compat.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+From c1cb014722147a3373a7d7ebbf99781cbb335cbf Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
+From: Fabio Valentini <decathorpe@gmail.com>
+Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2023 00:31:15 +0200
+Subject: [PATCH] Temporarily accept cargo_prep -V flag for spec compatibiltiy
+ with RHEL
+
+---
+ macros.d/macros.cargo | 3 ++-
+ 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
+
+diff --git a/macros.d/macros.cargo b/macros.d/macros.cargo
+index e99f5a6..05159d8 100644
+--- a/macros.d/macros.cargo
++++ b/macros.d/macros.cargo
+@@ -54,7 +54,8 @@
+ #   -v <directory> - use vendored sources from <directory> instead of
+ #                    %%cargo_registry
+ #   -N             - Don't set up any registry. Only set up the build configuration.
+-%cargo_prep(v:N)\
++%cargo_prep(V:v:N)\
++%{-V:%{?fedora:%{error:The -V flag for cargo_prep is not supported in Fedora}}}\
+ %{-v:%{-N:%{error:-v and -N are mutually exclusive!}}}\
+ (\
+ set -euo pipefail\
+-- 
+2.41.0
+
diff --git a/rust-packaging.spec b/rust-packaging.spec
index c239e72..b4a4869 100644
--- a/rust-packaging.spec
+++ b/rust-packaging.spec
@@ -9,6 +9,12 @@ License:        MIT
 URL:            https://pagure.io/fedora-rust/rust-packaging
 Source:         %{url}/archive/%{version}/rust-packaging-%{version}.tar.gz
 
+# temporary patch for compatibility with RHEL / ELN:
+# The %%cargo_prep macro in RHEL / ELN accepts a -V flag. Using the same spec
+# file for both Fedora and ELN would cause spec file parsing errors because
+# the -V flag is not known in Fedora.
+Patch:          0001-Temporarily-accept-cargo_prep-V-flag-for-spec-compat.patch
+
 BuildArch:      noarch
 
 %if %{with check}