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Putin praises 'sincere efforts' from US to end Ukraine war, signals nuclear deal ahead of Alaska summit
Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets with representatives of the Russian business circles in Moscow on May 26, 2025. AFP File
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised the United States for its 'sincere efforts' to end the war in Ukraine and raised the possibility of a nuclear arms deal ahead of his upcoming summit with President Donald Trump, as European leaders urged Trump to take a firm stance.
Putin, speaking ahead of his trip to Alaska, appeals to Trump's desire for a Nobel.
He says the US is 'making energetic and sincere efforts to end the conflict,' and dangles 'long-term conditions for peace […] if we reach agreements on strategic offensive arms control.' pic.twitter.com/JxrwJ4Vmcx — max seddon (@maxseddon) August 14, 2025
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Speaking to his most senior ministers and security officials as he prepared for the meeting with Trump in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday, Putin said, 'United States 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'.
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.'
Putin's remarks 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.
The Alaska meeting, that could shape the endgame to the largest war in Europe since World War Two, 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.
A senior eastern European official told Reuters 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,' Reuters quoted the official as saying.
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'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 President Trump appeared willing to support security guarantees for Kyiv — a potentially significant, though still , commitment that offers a glimmer of hope for Ukraine.
According to European leaders, Trump expressed this willingness during a last-minute virtual meeting with them and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, although he made no public reference to the offer afterward.
'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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
With inputs from agencies
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