At what was billed as an “historic” presidential summit, hastily put together in Alaska on Friday afternoon, the optics were as clear and overshadowing as the vast Chugach mountains glistening over Anchorage in the summer sun.

After leaving Alaska, Trump says he would prefer to "go directly to a peace agreement" to end the war in Ukraine as he prepares to meet Zelensky on Monday.

Both President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered brief remarks, but took no questions, in Alaska.

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.

In Alaska, military parader President Donald Trump literally had U.S. soldiers on their knees to roll out the red carpet for wanted war criminal Vladimir Putin, who Trump greeted with applause as Putin played him like a pawn.

The Alaska summit between the U.S. and Russian leaders showcased their mutual animosity for the former president.

President Donald Trump has failed to secure an agreement from Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, falling short in his most significant move yet to stop the bloodshed, even after rolling out the red carpet for the man who started it.

"We are seeing accommodation more than we've seen in the past, certainly more than we saw in the last administration," Witkoff said. "And that's encouraging. Now we have to build on that."