For Putin, Friday’s meeting is a chance to repair his relationship with Trump and unlace the West’s isolation of his country following its invasion of Ukraine 3 1/2 years ago. He’s been open about his desire to rebuild U.S.-Russia relations now that Trump is back in the White House.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to London, a day before a critical U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska.

President Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska to attempt to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. The meeting will take place at a military base in Alaska that was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the height of Cold War and still plays a role today.