American officials quickly discovered a major snag in planning for the summit: summertime is peak tourist season in Alaska, and options both available and equipped to host the two world leaders were severely limited.

President Donald Trump said he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next Friday in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, a potential breakthrough after weeks of expressing frustration that more was not being done to quell the fighting.

Whether the U.S.-Russia summit can lead to a deal to produce peace in Ukraine more than 3 1/2 years after Moscow’s invasion remains to be seen.