French President Emmanuel Macron said Donald Trump told European leaders that the United States, together with other willing allies, could offer security guarantees to Ukraine once a cease-fire is reached, but that such assurances should be provided outside the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Macron, speaking to reporters on 14 August, recounted a 13 August call in which the former U.S. president "clearly ruled out" NATO participation in any future security arrangement for Kyiv. His remarks confirm a Politico report citing sources who said Trump is "open" to post-war guarantees so long as they are not tied to Ukraine’s long-sought NATO membership. The position marks a departure from the policy of President Joe Biden’s administration, which has maintained that Ukraine will eventually join the alliance. Any settlement that excludes NATO could reshape negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s 2022 invasion, while reviving questions about the durability of Western commitments made outside the treaty’s mutual-defence clause.