Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will discuss the "huge untapped potential" for Russia-U.S. economic ties as well as the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine when they meet in Alaska on Friday,

The US-Russia summit lets Putin get back to the top table of international diplomacy and thumb his nose at critics. Here’s what else he stands to gain.

Speculation has swirled over whether the Trump-Putin summit will result in the map of Ukraine being forcibly – and fundamentally – altered. Russia has laid claim to vast parts of Ukraine since 2014, when President Vladimir Putin made his first move.