Putin praises Trump’s peace efforts and floats potential nuclear deal at Alaska summit

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the Trump administration’s “energetic” efforts to stop the war in Ukraine and hinted that Moscow and Washington could strike a deal on nuclear arms control during their summit on Friday in Alaska.

In his first public comments since US President Donald Trump announced the Alaska summit, Putin on Thursday chaired a meeting of senior Russian officials at the Kremlin to brief them on the state of play in negotiations with the US on Ukraine.

“The current American administration... is making, in my opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict,” Putin said.

In his brief remarks, Putin said the summit with the US aims to “create long-term conditions for peace between our countries, as well as in Europe, and in the world as a whole.”

He suggested this broader peace can be achieved if, in the “next stages” of discussions with the US, “we reach agreements in the area of control over strategic offensive weapons.”

Although it was not clear what kind of deal Putin referred to, most strategic weapons treaties between the US and Russia have covered nuclear weapons, or nuclear-capable missile systems.

The US and Russia agreed to limit their arsenals of nuclear arms under the New START treaty, which came into force in 2011. Under the agreement, both countries had seven years to meet defined limits on the number of deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons they can have. The treaty, however, is due to expire in February 2026.

In a sign of unease between the two countries, Trump this month said he ordered two nuclear submarines to be strategically positioned near Russia, in response to what he said were “highly provocative” remarks by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and the current deputy chairman of its Security Council.

Medvedev is prone to erratic outbursts on social media – often raising the specter of nuclear conflict – but Trump said he made the decision “in case these these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.”

Also on Thursday, Yury Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy aide, shared more details about the plans for Friday’s summit, saying the presidents will first have a one-on-one conversation, with the help of interpreters, before continuing talks over a business lunch.

The aide said the talks will focus on the war in Ukraine, as well as the prospects of cooperation between Russia and the US in trade and economic issues. After the talks, the presidents will hold a joint press conference, he said.

Ushakov will be one of five members on Russia’s negotiating team, along with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Kirill Dmitriev, a senior negotiator and head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Ukraine and Europe have not been invited to the summit, raising fears Kyiv could be forced into unwanted concessions.

Desperate to get Trump’s ear one last time before he sits down one-on-one with Putin, European leaders on Wednesday held a call with the US president.

The Europeans struck a cautiously upbeat note after the meeting, claiming that Trump had been sympathetic to their calls for an immediate ceasefire, and that Ukraine must have a seat at the table in future negotiations. — CNN