Putin ready to make Ukraine deal: Trump

US prez says sanctions threat likely played a role in Moscow seeking a meeting; Putin praises 'sincere efforts' by US

- REUTERS

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin will make a deal, and that the threat of sanctions against Russia likely played a role in Moscow seeking a meeting.

Trump is scheduled to meet with Putin in Alaska on Friday. The US president said he is unsure whether an immediate ceasefire can be achieved but expressed interest in brokering a peace agreement.

"He's, he really, I believe now, he's convinced that he's going to make a deal...I think he's going to, and we're going to find out," Trump said in an interview on Fox News Radio.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised "sincere efforts" by the US to end the war in Ukraine and floated the prospect of a nuclear arms deal ahead of a summit with President Donald Trump where Europe has urged Trump to stand firm.

Putin was speaking to his most senior ministers and security officials as he prepared for the meeting with Trump that could shape the endgame to the largest war in Europe since World War II. 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."