FROM THE moment he stepped off his plane onto the red-carpeted tarmac, the summit in Alaska was a triumph for Vladimir Putin. He was greeted with applause from his host, Donald Trump. The two men may have had nothing to announce after hours of talks—the first meeting between a Russian and American president since the invasion of Ukraine—but the encounter at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage transformed Mr Putin from a pariah of the West into an honoured guest on American soil.

Pursuing Peace” — plastered on the wall, President Donald Trump welcomed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for a summit in Alaska on Friday whose results remained entirely unclear once it abruptly ended.

After stepping off Air Force One, Trump applauded as Putin approached along a red carpet laid out for each leader.