A summit in Paris six years ago was the first and only time the two presidents ever met, flanked by French president Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s then-chancellor Angela Merkel. At the time, Putin and Zelensky were looking to hash out a ceasefire deal for war in Donbas in Ukraine’s east, where Russia-backed forces were fighting Ukrainian troops.

As Karoline Leavitt browbeats reporters for failing to hail Trump as a world-historical peacemaker, an international relations expert explains the deeper reasons his handling of the Russia-Ukraine talks is so alarming.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not reach a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine after talks in Alaska on Friday, as the two leaders offered scant details on what was discussed but heaped praise on one another.

President Trump, who for years has balked at American support for Ukraine, has pledged to bring an end to the war. But no deal was reached after he spoke with the Russian leader for nearly three hours Friday.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump is meeting face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday for a high-stakes summit that could determine not only the trajectory of the war in Ukraine but also the fate of European security.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump expressed hope that Monday’s critical talks with Ukrainian and European leaders at the White House could lead to trilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The French president was among the European leaders who visited the White House to present a united front in support of Ukraine.

As negotiations over the war carry on, President Vladimir V. Putin is pushing hard with tactics that have evolved over three and a half years.