The White House is lowering expectations for any breakthrough from President Trump’s summit Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, using terms like “listening session” and “feel-out meeting” to describe the planned discussion about the war in Ukraine.

Russia says it invaded Ukraine to halt Kyiv's ambitions to join NATO, the U.S.-led defensive alliance, which it saw as a major security threat. It also accuses Kyiv of persecuting ethnic Russians and their culture in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened "severe consequences" against Russia if Vladimir Putin did not agree to stop the war.