Donald Trump was not. When the leaders of Russia and the United States shook hands on stage after failing to reach a deal at their Alaska summit, President Trump had a look on his face that his four predecessors might have recognized after their own encounters with the former KGB agent who has defied the world in his determination to rebuild an empire.

President Donald Trump walked into a summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin pressing for a ceasefire deal and threatening “severe consequences” and tough new sanctions if the Kremlin leader failed to agree to halt the fighting in Ukraine.

One key party who will not be in attendance Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump said Thursday he hopes the summit will lead to a second meeting that would include Zelenskyy.

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

Both President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered brief remarks, but took no questions, in Alaska.

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

U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not reach a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine after talks in Alaska on Friday, as the two leaders offered scant details on what was discussed but heaped praise on one another.

President Vladimir Putin spoke to the leaders of Belarus and Kazakhstan on Sunday to update them on the summit with U.S. President Donald Trump which the Kremlin has cast as a potentially significant stepping stone towards peace in Ukraine.