Media: Trump tells European leaders he won't discuss Ukrainian territories with Putin

US President Donald Trump has told European leaders that he will not discuss Ukraine's territories and will insist on an unconditional ceasefire during his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on 15 August.

"Ceasefire: While Trump did not use the term unconditional he said that he believed that a ceasefire would be a show of goodwill from Russia, and he also said that the Ukrainian territory is not for him to negotiate – which left the impression that he would not entertain any Russian proposal that they would get control of Ukrainian territory in exchange for a ceasefire," CNN cites several European diplomats familiar with Trump's latest phone conversation with European leaders.

This was the main message from the Europeans, who stated that Ukraine must be included in talks regarding its territory.

However, expectations for this meeting are low, a CNN source noted.

According to their sources, Trump said he supports security guarantees for Ukraine that would involve US participation. A diplomat stated that the European officials had seen this as a particularly positive step.

But a former Trump official cautioned that the US president often likes to keep allies on his side, yet anything could happen during the meeting.

In addition, the diplomats said that the idea of introducing new sanctions against Russia had been discussed – particularly secondary sanctions on China over crucial Russian oil – if the meeting is not successful.

Trump reportedly said that he is considering this, but did not make any commitments. However, according to a third European official, there was a sense that Trump could very soon impose new US sanctions if the meeting goes badly.

On 15 August, US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage in Alaska.

The White House said that the initiative to hold a meeting between Trump and Putin during Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit to Moscow had come from the Russian side.

Trump expects his meeting with Putin in Alaska on 15 August to be "constructive", but does not rule out negative outcomes.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the summit in Alaska is not a victory for the Kremlin and should not be seen as a concession to Putin. He said the meeting would be of an exploratory nature, during which Trump wants to make his own assessment of the situation by looking "this guy in the eye". Meanwhile, Rubio admitted that the talks will be difficult, as "this war means a lot to Putin".

Later, The Telegraph reported that Trump was planning to propose a series of economic incentives during his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on 15 August, particularly access to Alaska's natural resources and the partial lifting of sanctions on Russia's aircraft industry, in exchange for ending the war against Ukraine.