Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff says Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war.

Speaking after Friday’s summit, President Putin again implied that the war is all about Russia’s diminished status since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Trump in Washington on Monday to discuss 'ending the war' with President Donald Trump

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he hoped that agreements reached at his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump could be a launchpad for settling the Ukraine conflict and restoring ties between Russia and the U.

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President Trump and Russian President Putin drove off together in the presidential vehicle, "The Beast," as the leaders arrived in Anchorage, Alaska for a summit to discuss the Ukraine war. Putin could be seen laughing as the two leaders drove off for a historic summit which is expected to last hours.

Russian state TV gave a positive coverage of the outcome of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, celebrating the handshake between the two leaders. Russian officials also stated that the meeting resulted in progress on sanctions and opened up room for future negotiations.