Kuala Lampur, Aug. 16 -- The much-anticipated summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, was billed as a historic opportunity to end the war in Ukraine.

Instead, it concluded with three sobering realities: no deal, no ceasefire, and no tangible progress.

For all the pomp, photo opportunities, and symbolic gestures, the meeting revealed more about the limitations of power than the promise of diplomacy.

Trump emerged from the two-and-a-half-hour talks proclaiming that "great progress" had been made, though he simultaneously admitted, "we're not there yet."

Putin, for his part, called the conversations "constructive" but issued thinly veiled warnings to Ukraine and Europe about avo...