U. S. President Donald Trump has expressed willingness to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, but only if they are not connected to NATO, Politico reported, citing sources.

According to the publication, Trump said he would take on such a commitment only if the measures were separate from the alliance. The report noted that the U.S. president indicated Washington was prepared to help provide Ukraine with «deterrence measures» in the event of an agreement to end hostilities with Russia, but only under certain conditions.

One source told Politico that Trump did not clarify what he specifically meant by security guarantees, instead limiting the discussion to a more general concept.

Trump also stated that if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a ceasefire during their upcoming August 15 talks, the United States would take retaliatory measures.