President Donald Trump supports Russian leader Vladimir Putin's proposal for Moscow to take full control of the Donbas and freeze the front lines elsewhere for a deal with Ukraine.

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.

Ukraine and its European allies have criticised Putin’s stance on the war after the Alaska summit as a way to buy time.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held calls on Saturday with his Turkish and Hungarian counterparts, the Russian foreign ministry said, hours after a summit between the U.S. and Russian presidents yielded no deal on ending the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine and its European backers insist that the United States and Russia cannot decide on land swaps behind their backs at a summit this week in Alaska.

President Donald Trump has offered his critics, the world and U.S. allies contrasting images on how America treats its friends and adversaries after failing to broker a ceasefire in Russia's unprovoked war to annex Ukraine.

In a few short hours in Alaska, Vladimir Putin managed to convince Donald Trump that a Ukraine ceasefire was not the way to go, stave off U.S. sanctions, and spectacularly shatter years of Western attempts to isolate the Russian president.

Fox News senior correspondent Benjamin Hall discusses the history of the Russia-Ukraine war from his eyes as President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin hold talks in Alaska on ‘The Story.’