Trump says he thinks Putin will make a deal on Ukraine

Putin will likely raise the issue of nuclear arms control as part of a wide-ranging discussion on security when he sits down with Trump. File picture: Mikhail Metzel/AP

US president Donald Trump said on Thursday he thought Vladimir Putin was ready to make a deal on ending the war in Ukraine after the Russian president floated the prospect of a nuclear arms agreement on the eve of their summit in Alaska.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European allies have intensified their efforts this week to prevent any deal between the US and Russia emerging from Friday's summit that leaves Ukraine vulnerable to future attack.