Vladimir Putin will be delighted.

He flew to Alaska expecting to concede ground. Instead, he left having gained it .

Donald Trump had warned of “very severe consequences” if the Russian leader refused a ceasefire during their Anchorage talks. Yet, as so often before, the US president emerged echoing Putin’s talking points .

The Kremlin has long argued that there can no halt to the war without tackling its “root causes”, which in Putin’s view means demilitarising Ukraine, toppling its government, forcing it to cede eastern territory and barring it from Nato.

Now the leader of the free world appears to believe he has a point.

“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, and not a mere Ceasefi

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