President Vladimir Putin has praised President Trump’s efforts to halt Russia’s war in Ukraine ahead of bilateral talks between the U.S. and Russian leaders in Alaska this afternoon. Putin suggested a new nuclear weapons agreement could be on the table. During his first term, President Trump formally withdrew the U.S. from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. At the White House, Trump predicted Friday’s summit will be a stepping stone to a future meeting that would include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

President Donald Trump: “It’s going to be a good meeting, but the more important meeting will be the second meeting that we’re having. We’re going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelensky, myself, and maybe we’ll bring some of the European leaders along, maybe not.”

Today’s summit is taking place in Alaska, which the United States purchased from Russia in 1867. Putin’s visit to U.S. soil comes despite an outstanding warrant from the International Criminal Court seeking his arrest for war crimes involving the unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine. Neither Russia nor the U.S. is a party to the Rome Statute that established the ICC. We’ll have more on the war in Ukraine and the Trump-Putin summit later in the broadcast.