On Aug.15, the highly anticipated summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump of the United States concluded without little progress. Russia also dedicated a meeting to preparation, and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin cut short his agenda in Kyrgyzstan to prepare for the summit in Alaska. Trump hoped the summit would be a game-changer and aimed for a cease-fire agreement. Finally, by hosting the next summit in Russia, Putin retained the initiative, sidelining Europe and Ukraine and avoiding potential diplomatic encirclement. Europe and Ukraine are actually relieved that Trump and Putin failed to reach an agreement.