NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte believes that the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on 15 August will be a test of Putin's seriousness about ending the war,

Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will hold a high-stakes meeting about the Ukraine war on Friday in Alaska, which the United States bought from Russia more than 150 years ago.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia may arrive to a somewhat chilly reception in Alaska next week, as the state that has long made efforts to deepen and even celebrate its ties to the country has soured on its neighbor across the Bering Sea.