NEW YORK, August 22. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told European officials that Europe should take the lead in providing security guarantees for Ukraine after the conflict ends, CNN reported, citing an unnamed European diplomat.

According to the TV channel, the top US diplomat voiced the White House's position during a telephone conversation with European national security advisers on Thursday. Rubio also noted that Washington is ready to participate in providing security guarantees for Ukraine, but did not specify what the steps the US might take.

Other sources told the TV channel that limited US participation could involve US pilots conducting reconnaissance flights over Ukraine. The US administration is also discussing the option of using drones for this purpose, CNN's sources added.

US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that security guarantees for Ukraine cannot include protection from NATO. He added that the US would be ready to help Europe, especially with regard to air defense, though he did not specify what this help would entail. Trump also noted that there would be no American troops on Ukrainian territory as long as he is president.

After Vladimir Zelensky met with Trump in Washington on Monday, the topic of possibly sending Western troops to Ukraine if the crisis is settled has been brought up again by European politicians. Moscow opposes the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, a position reiterated by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. On Thursday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia would find it unacceptable for Ukraine to receive security guarantees through "foreign military intervention in any part of Ukrainian territory."