President Donald Trump warned that "severe consequences" lie ahead for Russia if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn't agree to stop the Ukraine war after they meet for a high-stakes summit in Alaska on Friday.

Donald Trump promised “very severe consequences” for Russia if its leader Vladimir Putin refused to agree to end the war with Ukraine at their meeting in Alaska on Friday. The US president issued the threat after holding talks on Wednesday with European leaders that went some way to calming their fears he could strike a deal on territory with Putin and then try to impose it on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Alaska's energy resources could be up for discussion at Friday's meeting between Trump and Putin, according to a report.

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 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.