“President Donald Trump expects his encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week to be a ‘listening exercise,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday, sharply downplaying the possibility that a deal to end the war in Ukraine could be imminent despite a warning from the president last week that Kyiv needed to ‘get ready to sign something,’” the Washington Post reports.

“The lowered expectations for Friday’s meeting in Alaska came as Russia made significant battlefield gains in eastern Ukraine and appeared to be in little mood to offer concessions that might be necessary to achieve a durable halt in the fighting.”

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