Location matters, former real estate mogul US President Donald Trump said. Moments later he announced Alaska, a place sold by Russia to the United States 158 years ago for $7.2 million, would be where Russian President Vladimir Putin tries to sell his land deal of the century,

Trump will meet Putin in Alaska to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine. But Zelensky has objected to being left out.

When Donald Trump teed up the location for his meeting with Vladimir Putin, he insisted it would be “a very popular one for a lot of reasons”.