Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated he is open to negotiating a new nuclear arms agreement with the United States, setting the stage for the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries’ leaders in more than three years.

Speaking on state television Thursday, Putin said Washington was making what he described as genuine efforts to end the war in Ukraine. He noted that both sides could explore agreements on controlling strategic offensive weapons, a reference to nuclear arms. His comments come as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the last remaining pact limiting U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles, approaches its February expiration.

The treaty, known as New START, caps deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550 for each country and includes strict verification measures. Without an extension or a replacement deal, the world’s two largest nuclear powers would no longer be bound by formal limits for the first time in decades.

The renewed talk of arms control follows a period of heightened tension. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump ordered two U.S. nuclear submarines to move closer to Russian waters in response to remarks from a former Russian president that Washington considered provocative. The Kremlin dismissed the deployment as routine but warned against inflaming nuclear rhetoric.

Friday’s meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, will be the first summit between U.S. and Russian leaders since June 2021, months before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The encounter is viewed as a pivotal moment for Trump, who has publicly pushed for a negotiated end to the conflict but has provided few details on his proposed terms. He has said Russia would face severe consequences if it refuses to make peace, without specifying what measures might be taken.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed skepticism about Moscow’s intentions. In a statement on social media Wednesday, he said there was no indication Russia was preparing to halt its offensive. Zelenskyy has spent the week shoring up international backing ahead of the summit, meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin.

Starmer and Merz joined French President Emmanuel Macron in co-chairing a meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing,” a group of countries that have pledged support for Ukraine. U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Gen. Keith Kellogg were among the American officials present.