𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The US-Russia summit in Alaska may have ended without a breakthrough but President Trump will hope he is edging towards winning the coveted Nobel Peace Prize.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – his Democrat rival in the 2016 election – has said she would nominate him from the honour if he can secure a peace deal which does not involve Ukraine ceding territory to Russia.

Bookmakers Ladbrokes now have Mr Trump the joint 5/2 favourite to win the award. He is tied with Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The president’s legacy is now directly tied to the future of Ukraine.

Retired Rear Admiral Michael Hewitt, who was deputy director for global operations at the Pentagon, said: “The main outcome Trump wanted was a ceasefire – and that did not happen. “Trump didn’t want to show his cards at the summit, but I think he is a very strategic thinker who is playing a much larger chessboard than either Putin or Zelensky.

“At this point, offering carrots would only reinforce Putin’s belief that the trip was his to win. If anything, I can see Trump exercising pretty crippling sanctions and tariffs on Russia and on those that support Russia, particularly India and China.

“If Trump really goes after India and China with tariffs and sanctions, they’ll drop Putin very quickly.”

Patrick Basham, director of the US-based Democracy Institute, said: “When it comes to Ukraine, he’s now got his imprint on it. It’s no longer just Biden’s war, the Democrats’ war or the neocons’ war.

“It’s also Trump’s war and that means Trump’s peace, if it comes to that. His biggest dilemma is that, while he can sell getting out, he fears that he won’t get all of the glory of ending it if it appears or is sold as he just gave Putin everything he wanted.”