Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Friday that his country will clearly present its position on the Ukrainian crisis during the upcoming summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, noting that preparations for the summit have seen "significant steps" through visits by U.S. Special Envoy Stephen Wittkopf.

In a press statement, Lavrov said, "Russia has clear and well-founded arguments and a position that it will present," adding that the previous visits by the American envoy provided an opportunity to clarify many aspects. In this regard, he expressed hope for the continuation of what he described as "an extremely useful dialogue."

Lavrov arrived in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, accompanied by Russia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Alexander Darchiev, as part of preparations for the Russian-American summit scheduled for today.

The Kremlin stated in a release that the summit will begin at 22:30 Moscow time at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base, where the two presidents will first hold bilateral talks, followed by an expanded meeting with their respective delegations.

On the Russian side, participants will include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Presidential Special Envoy for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Kirill Dmitriev, and Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov.

The Kremlin clarified that the two leaders will deliver brief remarks before the negotiations, followed by a joint press conference. It noted that the Ukrainian crisis will top the agenda, with widespread anticipation over what the summit might reveal about the future of political dialogue between Moscow and Washington.

Last Friday, Trump announced that he would meet Putin in Alaska today to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. In a later statement, the U.S. president warned of "severe consequences" for Russia if it does not agree to halt its war on Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the White House has lowered expectations regarding the possibility of reaching a deal to end the Russian-Ukrainian war during the upcoming Trump-Putin summit.