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.

Trump said after meeting with Putin in Alaska the “best way” to end Russia’s war with Ukraine is “to go directly to a peace agreement,” and not a “mere ceasefire agreement.”

Trump and Putin met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday afternoon to discuss an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which began more than three years ago. The pair announced “great progress” had been made, but they still did not reach any kind of plan to end the war.