President Donald Trump has often bragged about his warm relationship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. But in the months leading up to the leaders’ first meeting in six years, Trump began asking Europeans and White House aides what’s changed about his counterpart.

Whether the U.S.-Russia summit can lead to a deal to produce peace in Ukraine more than 3 1/2 years after Moscow’s invasion remains to be seen.

President Donald Trump is due to meet Friday in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Crude-oil prices surged when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and there is a potential for sizable moves depending on how Friday’s summit goes.