The art of no deal

Vladimir Putin's Alaska trip gave him everything he wanted and demanded nothing of him in return

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The worst outcome of Friday's superpower summit in Alaska would have been a deal made in Ukraine's absence that required it to give up land.

That did not transpire, but the next worst outcome did. A Russian leader with the blood of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians on his hands was invited to America and applauded by its president as he approached down the red carpet.

Putin departed earlier than expected but got everything he came for: a handshake with the one person in the world with the power to hold him to account; a one-on-one meeting with no one to factcheck either side; a stage from which to lecture the international press on his bogus view of the “root causes” of a war he started: and, most precious of all, time to go on fighting a war he thinks he’s winning. If this were part of a deal he would have given something in return, but Putin conceded nothing.