REUTERS, Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that the United States was making “sincere efforts” to halt the war in Ukraine and suggested Moscow and Washington could agree a nuclear arms deal as part of a wider effort to strengthen peace.

Putin was speaking to his most senior ministers and security officials on the eve of a summit in Alaska with US President Donald Trump, who is pressing for an end to the war.

He 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 in Anchorage for the first Russia-US summit since June 2021.

Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov said earlier that Putin and Trump will also discuss the “huge untapped potential” for Russia-US economic ties, as well as the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine.

Ushakov told reporters that the summit would start at 1930 GMT, which would be 1130 am local time in Anchorage, with the two leaders meeting one-on-one, accompanied only by translators.

He said delegations from the two countries would then meet and have a working lunch, and the presidents would give a joint news conference.

Ushakov said it was “obvious to everyone” that Ukraine would be the focus of the meeting, but broader security and international issues would also be discussed.

Russia and the United States have by far the biggest nuclear arsenals in the world. The last remaining treaty between them that limits the numbers of these weapons is due to expire on February 5 next year.

The New START treaty covers strategic nuclear weapons - those designed by each side to hit the enemy’s centres of military, economic and political power - and caps the number of deployed warheads at 1,550 on each side. Both are likely to breach that limit if the treaty is not extended or replaced.