Putin Floats New Arms Control Pact Ahead of Alaska Summit With Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved to flatter U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of their closely watched summit in Alaska, praising Washington’s “energetic and sincere efforts” to end the war.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Bloomberg.
The meeting, set for Friday, will be the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House.
While Putin is signaling a willingness to discuss broader strategic and economic issues, Trump has stressed that the talks are intended as a preliminary “feel-out” meeting.
Putin told senior Russian officials on Thursday that an agreement on controlling strategic offensive weapons could “create long-term conditions for peace” between the U.S. and Russia, and more broadly in Europe and the world.
The Kremlin also said the summit agenda would include economic cooperation, with key Russian finance and investment officials joining the delegation.
Yet expectations for a breakthrough are muted. Trump, mindful of the criticism he faced after a 2018 summit with Putin in Helsinki, has sought to downplay the likelihood of an immediate peace deal.
Trump has denied plans to negotiate land swaps during the Alaska summit and said he will press Putin to meet Zelenskyy directly.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said the primary aim was to quickly determine whether a peace deal is even possible. “Ultimately it’ll be up to Ukraine and Russia to agree to one,” he told reporters.
As The Gaze reported earlier, U.S. President said he believes his upcoming meeting with Putin in Alaska has a one-in-four chance of failing.