The Trump-Putin summit will take place in a former Russian colony that the United States bought for $7.2 million in 1867. Here’s how the deal came together and why its legacy matters.

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.

Russia's decision to sell Alaska was influenced by its financial struggles following the Crimean War and the desire to strengthen ties with the United States, a fellow rival of Great Britain. Selling Alaska provided Russia with much-needed cash and ensured that Britain would not gain control of the territory.

The act of meeting and the nature of the interaction were such that the summit did considerable damage to the U.S. and broader western position on Ukraine.

Promising severe consequences if Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine and then apparently reversing himself is what sends a signal of weakness, not only to Putin,

The meeting between President Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is taking place in a region rich with significance for Moscow. Once Russian territory, Alaska was sold by Alexander II in 1867 for $7.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held calls on Saturday with his Turkish and Hungarian counterparts, the Russian foreign ministry said, hours after a summit between the U.S. and Russian presidents yielded no deal on ending the war in Ukraine.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine’s future could hinge on a hastily assembled meeting Monday at the White House as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy brings with him an extraordinary cadre of European leaders to show U.S. President Donald Trump a united front against Russia.