At what was billed as an “historic” presidential summit, hastily put together in Alaska on Friday afternoon, the optics were as clear and overshadowing as the vast Chugach mountains glistening over Anchorage in the summer sun.

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The US president said a peace agreement would be better than a "mere" ceasefire, hours after summit with Putin that produced little.

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded their meeting after more than two-and-a-half hours.

Trump and Putin are slated to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. The high-stakes meeting comes three-and-a-half years into Russia's war with Ukraine, which Trump pledged to end on his first day back in office.

American officials quickly discovered a major snag in planning for the summit: summertime is peak tourist season in Alaska, and options both available and equipped to host the two world leaders were severely limited.