U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have begun face-to-face talks in Alaska for a high-stakes summit that could determine the trajectory of the war in Ukraine and the fate of European security.

Trump’s allies have cast the U.S. president as a heavyweight negotiator who can find a way to bring the slaughter to a close , something he used to boast he could do quickly. For Putin, a summit with Trump offers a long-sought opportunity to try to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia’s gains, block Kyiv’s bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow’s orbit.

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