US President Donald Trump’s Ukraine ceasefire plan was the focus of a call with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 13 August, NBC News reports. European officials briefed on the discussion said the president told participants he will not discuss any division of territory when he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on 15 August, but will push for an end to the fighting first.

Leaders stress truce before peace talks

NBC cites two European officials and three other people briefed on the call who said Trump’s stated goal for the Alaska meeting is to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine. The sources told NBC that Trump and the other leaders agreed no peace negotiations should begin until a truce is in place. Zelenskyy warned during the call that “Putin definitely does not want peace.”

Concerns over earlier land swap comments

European and Ukrainian officials had grown uneasy after Trump’s recent public remark suggesting there could “be some land swapping” between Russia and Ukraine. NBC’s sources said those concerns were addressed directly, with Trump assuring allies that Ukraine must decide any territorial concessions and that no such deals would be struck without Kyiv’s consent.

Sanctions threat if truce fails

According to NBC, participants in the call agreed that if Putin refuses a ceasefire, Trump will likely move to impose new sanctions on Russia. Two additional people familiar with the conversation told NBC that some European leaders left feeling more positive about the president’s approach, with one source saying achieving a truce is the top priority for the meeting.

Possible follow-up meeting with Zelenskyy

NBC reports Trump said after the call that there is a “very good chance” of a second meeting involving himself, Putin, and Zelenskyy soon after the Alaska summit. He suggested such talks could happen “almost immediately” if the first meeting clarifies each side’s position.

White House stays quiet on details

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC the administration would not comment on private diplomatic conversations but reiterated that Trump wants to end the war and stop the killing. Vice President JD Vance, who also joined the Wednesday call, told US troops in the UK that ending the war in Ukraine is one of “our most important shared security goals in Europe.”

The Kremlin is considering two scenarios for the upcoming Alaska summit: an agreement without Ukraine or pressure through cutting aid. According to Corriere della Sera, Russian President Vladimir Putin is offering US President Donald Trump a “convenient way out of the situation,” Kremlin foreign policy adviser Dmitry Suslov says.

Scenario 1: Bilateral deal without Ukraine and Europe

The first option envisions adopting a Russia–US ceasefire plan for Ukraine, negotiated exclusively between Moscow and Washington.

The agreement could include:

• Withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the parts of Donbas they still control,
• Withdrawal of Russian forces from Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv oblasts, but keeping the current front line in other areas, 
• Ukraine is committed not to join NATO.

This would mean continued fighting in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Suslov stressed that renouncing NATO membership is a “mandatory and inevitable condition,” and the final arrangements must include “Ukraine’s demilitarization and constitutional reform toward federalization.”

Scenario 2: Pressure through cutting assistance

Suslov said the second option is that Ukraine and its European partners reject the Kremlin’s proposals. In this case, he suggests Trump could completely end military aid to Kyiv and even halt weapons sales to European countries so they cannot transfer arms to Ukraine.

“This will speed up Ukraine’s defeat and its complete collapse,” he stated.

Suslov believes Trump might take such a step to avoid appearing weak after pressuring Brazil, India, and China to stop importing Russian oil under threat of secondary sanctions.

At the same time, according to the Kremlin adviser, successfully reaching a bilateral deal in Alaska would help ease tensions with China, India, and Brazil and give the US president the chance to claim a “historic achievement.”