Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday praised “sincere efforts” by Washington to end the war in Ukraine and floated the prospect of a nuclear arms deal ahead of a summit with US President Donald Trump, an issue in which Europe has urged the US to stand firm.
Putin was speaking to his most senior ministers and security officials as he prepared for the meeting with Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, today that could shape the endgame to the largest war in Europe since World War II.
It follows intensified efforts by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his European allies to prevent any deal that carves up Ukraine’s territory and leaves it vulnerable to future attack.
Photo: Reuters
Putin said in televised comments that the US was “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.”
This was happening “to create long-term conditions for peace between our countries, and in Europe, and in the world as a whole — if, by the next stages, we reach agreements in the area of control over strategic offensive weapons,” he said.
His comments signaled that Russia would raise the issue of nuclear arms control as part of a wide-ranging discussion on security when he sits down with Trump for the first US-Russia summit since June 2021.
A senior eastern European official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said that Putin would try to distract Trump from Ukraine at the talks by offering him possible progress on nuclear arms control or something business-related.
“We hope Trump won’t be fooled by the Russians, he understands all [these] dangerous things,” the official said.
“The only strategic goal for the Russians is not to receive new sanctions, and to lift the sanctions that the US and others [imposed] previously. The Russians have no other big goals now. They think they will find a way to take all of Ukraine in one way or another,” the source added.
Ukraine’s allies said Trump was willing to back security guarantees for Kyiv, a potentially significant, but as yet vague offer that could give some hope to Ukraine.
Trump had shown willingness to join the guarantees at a last-ditch virtual meeting with European leaders and Zelenskiy on Wednesday, leaders said, although he made no public mention of them afterward.
“Yesterday, together with all our partners, and today in a bilateral format, we discussed expectations for the meeting in Alaska and possible prospects,” Zelenskiy said after a meeting in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“We also discussed in considerable detail the security guarantees that can make peace truly durable if the United States succeeds in pressing Russia to stop the killings and engage in genuine, substantive diplomacy,” he said.
Today’s summit comes at one of the toughest moments for Ukraine in a war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
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