The talks on Friday in Alaska pull the Russian leader out of diplomatic isolation from the West, and Ukrainian and European leaders fear it gives him an opening to sway the American president.

Russia says it invaded Ukraine to halt Kyiv's ambitions to join NATO, the U.S.-led defensive alliance, which it saw as a major security threat. It also accuses Kyiv of persecuting ethnic Russians and their culture in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will take place at 11 a.m. (1900 GMT) in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, the White House said in a press schedule statement on Thursday.