Putin is the puppet master

DONALD Trump's weekend summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska was more than just a diplomatic curiosity. It was a gift to the Kremlin and a body blow to Western unity.

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN US Editor

Standing side by side, Putin used the moment to warn Ukraine and Europe not to “throw a wrench” into what he described as “progress”.

The scene was not progress at all - it was the spectacle of an American president rolling out the red carpet to a Russian autocrat.

Monday's emergency gathering at the White House was Europe's retort. Presidents, prime ministers and chancellors dropped everything to cross the Atlantic because they were alarmed not only at Putin's posturing, but at Trump's acquiescence.

The sense of history was unavoidable; it carried echoes of wartime conferences where Allied leaders scrambled to present a united front against tyranny. This time, however, the threat came not just from Moscow, but from Washington's own Oval Office.