Pakistan, Aug. 14 -- US President Donald Trump said his upcoming Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin may not succeed but will serve as a key step toward a second, more decisive meeting on Ukraine. The two leaders are set to meet Friday at a US air base near Anchorage to discuss possible solutions to the ongoing war.

Trump noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not participate in this first meeting but hinted that a future three-way discussion could follow if the initial talks prove productive. He stressed that the main dealmaking would happen during the second meeting, calling it "very, very important" for determining the future course of the conflict.

While Trump avoided directly saying they would "divv...