Russia and the U.S. can start work on a new arms control treaty after Friday’s summit in Alaska, said President Vladimir Putin ahead of his meeting with Donald Trump.
An agreement on the control of strategic offensive weapons could “create long-term conditions of peace between our countries, in Europe, and in the world as a whole,” Putin said at a meeting with senior Kremlin officials on Thursday.
Putin also praised the U.S. for making “quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the fighting.”
The Russian leader’s compliments to his U.S. counterpart come after Trump warned Moscow that he would impose “very severe consequences” if Putin didn’t agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine at the leaders’ meeting later this week.
European allies have expressed concern that the U.S. president — who has said an eventual deal would include territorial exchanges — could unilaterally agree to peace terms proposed by Putin that would disadvantage Ukraine and undermine the continent’s security.
Following a call with European leaders, Trump said he hoped to use the Friday summit with Putin to set up a “quick second meeting” with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
While the talks in Alaska are focused on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, Trump and Putin will also discuss bilateral economic cooperation, Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday, according to Russian newswires. The two presidents will hold a joint news conference after their meeting, the Kremlin said.
