Putin praises ‘sincere’ US as Ukraine braces for Trump-Putin summit

It follows intensified efforts by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European allies to prevent any deal that carves up Ukraine’s territory and leaves it vulnerable to future attack.

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, Putin said, “in order 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.”

His comments signalled that Russia will 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 Russia-US summit since June 2021.

A senior eastern European official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said 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.

SEEKING CLARITY ON SECURITY GUARANTEES

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 Zelenskyy on Wednesday, leaders said, though he made no public mention of them afterwards.

“Yesterday, together with all our partners, and today in a bilateral format, we discussed expectations for the meeting in Alaska and possible prospects,” Zelenskyy 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.”

Friday’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.

Speaking after Wednesday’s meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump insisted that the transatlantic NATO alliance should not be part of security guarantees that would be designed to protect Ukraine from future attacks in a post-war settlement.

“President Trump also stated this clearly, saying things that I find important: namely, that NATO should not be part of these security guarantees – and we know this is a key point, particularly for the Russian side – but (also) that the United States and all willing allies should be part of them. That is what we are committed to,” Macron said.

Expanding on that, a European official told Reuters that Trump said on the call he was willing to provide some security guarantees for Europe, without spelling out what they would be.

The official, who did not want to be named, said this was the first time he has been so explicit about providing some guarantees since the Coalition of the Willing talks led by Britain and France began in March.

It “felt like a big step forward”, the official said.

It was not immediately clear what such guarantees could mean in practice.

On Wednesday, Trump threatened “severe consequences” if Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine and while he did not specify what the consequences could be, he has warned of economic sanctions if his meeting on Friday proves fruitless. However, Russia is likely to resist Ukraine and Europe’s demands strongly and previously has said its stance had not changed since it was first detailed by Putin in June 2024.

A Kremlin aide said Putin and Trump will discuss the “huge untapped potential” for Russia-US economic ties as well as the prospects for ending the war at the meeting.

Zelenskyy confirmed this week that Russian forces had advanced by about 9-10 km (6 miles) near the town of Dobropillia in the Donetsk region. Ukraine, suffering manpower challenges, was forced to move in reserves to stabilise the situation.

Trump has said a deal could include what he called a land swap. Russia controls around a fifth of Ukraine and a land swap within Ukraine could cement Moscow’s gains.

Zelenskyy and the Europeans worry that would reward Putin for 11 years of efforts to seize Ukrainian land and embolden him to expand further west in Europe.

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