The Trump administration "is making quite an energetic and sincere effort, in my opinion, to stop hostilities, to stop the crisis and to reach an agreement that is of interest to all those involved in this conflict," Putin said during a meeting of his top officials to prepare for the Alaska summit, according to a readout published by the Kremlin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the United States is taking action to stop the war in Ukraine, in a meeting with Russian top officials ahead of Friday’s summit in Alaska with US President Donald Trump.

The U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska is happening where East meets West — quite literally — in a place familiar to both countries as a Cold War front line of missile defense, radar outposts and