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.

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia met Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, for the first face-to-face meeting between American and Russian leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.

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

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

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

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

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

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged warm words on Friday but left the much anticipated Alaska summit without an agreement to end Moscow's war against Ukraine and gave no details about what they discussed.