"The rational world is behaving irrationally by giving him this welcome," she said. Putin's plane had been escorted into the airbase in Alaska by four American fighter jets and as he strolled down the red carpet,

Putin's meeting represented a diplomatic victory after being ostracized by Western leaders since the start of the war. Just a week earlier, Trump was threatening him with new sanctions.

Any potential peace deal for Ukraine would need to involve agreement on territory, with Russia currently occupying almost a fifth of Ukraine’s land.

The US and Russian leaders meet on the red carpet on the tarmac in Anchorage ahead of beginning talks shortly.

Trump said he agreed with Putin that the best way to end the war was to go to a peace settlement - not via a ceasefire, as Ukraine and its European allies, until now with U.S. support, have been demanding.