It was a welcome tailored for a close friend, not a war criminal, and it looked to the Ukrainians like their nightmare.

By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) -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.

In a summit meeting marked by red carpets, handshakes and military flyovers, President Vladimir Putin made his first trip to the United States in a decade and was greeted warmly by President Donald Trump.

President Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin are holding a joint news conference after a more than 2 1/2-hour meeting in Alaska.

One of the documents indicated Trump planned to give the Russian president an “American Bald Eagle Desk Statue.”

In Alaska, President Vladimir Putin walked on a red carpet, shook hands and exchanged smiles with his American counterpart. Donald Trump ended the summit praising their relationship and calling Russia “a big power

The president talked up his connection with Russian leader Vladimir Putin after a summit between the two failed to secure a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s final words at the Alaska summit were delivered with a smile, spoken in an uncharacteristic burst of English.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Trump in Washington on Monday to discuss 'ending the war' with President Donald Trump

First came the red carpet, then the warm handshakes, friendly smiles and military planes flying overhead. Finally, President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin climbed into the back seat of Trump's presidential limousine,