Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have and will continue to confer with their respective allies to ensure they’re prepared for the result of Putin’s summit with President Donald Trump.

Trump has said he has wanted to see Russia’s war in Ukraine end since before he was inaugurated president, and his efforts have not yet worked, but his Friday meeting in Anchorage, Alaska — his first face-to-face with Putin since being reelected — could be his best chance to make progress on the objective that has eluded him thus far.

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The entire world is waiting to see whether Trump and Putin will make legitimate progress toward a cessation of the conflict, let alone a long-term solution, and if the U.S. president will leave the meeting believing Putin is the obstacle to peace and more inclined to help Ukraine, or vice versa. There are also a number of ways Trump could aid Ukraine, including militarily, and hurt Russia, like enacting his threats to impose tariffs and sanctions on countries that trade with Moscow. Or he could push Ukraine to agree to a deal that would be more beneficial to Russia.

For Zelensky, who was not invited to the summit, he has spent the week leading up to the Trump-Putin meeting with trips to visit European partners. The Ukrainian leader met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday, where the two leaders participated in a much larger call of western leaders that included Trump, and he met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday in London.

European leaders have been concerned with Trump’s unpredictability and the lack of invitation to the meeting has heightened the fear that their viewpoints may not be represented in it, though many leaders on the Wednesday call with the U.S. Commander-in-Chief said it went well.

If the Trump-Putin meeting goes well, President Trump has said he would want to see it followed up quickly with another meeting, one between Zelensky and Putin. Trump has said he would join if they want him to.

Zelensky will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron after the Trump-Putin summit, Macron’s office announced, though a date was not specified.

Alternatively, Putin — who requested the meeting, according to the White House — has also sought to convene with his own allies ahead of the summit.

Russia and North Korea have strengthened their ties over the course of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Putin gave a letter for Kim Jong-Un to the chair of Russia’s Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, to hand off to the North Korean leader during his trip to the reclusive nation this week. Putin and Kim also spoke this week.

Western intelligence agencies have said Pyongyang has sent more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops and has provided them with artillery shells and other military equipment.

“The bonds of militant friendship, goodwill, and mutual aid which were consolidated in the days of the war long ago remain solid and reliable even today,” Putin said in his letter to Kim, according to North Korean state media.

The Russian leader also shared a congratulatory message to Indian leaders for the celebration of the country’s independence day. In the note, Putin said the two sides “will continue to comprehensively expand constructive bilateral cooperation across various areas.”

India has been one of the biggest purchasers of Russian oil, and was the first to have its Trump tariff increased as a result of that support. Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on India last week, raising the total tariff on Indian products to 50%.

India does not “care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,” Trump said last week.

The Trump administration has not, however, penalized China for buying Russian oil, though Washington and Beijing have been engaged for months in conversations regarding a much broader trade agreement.

Read more on the Trump-Putin meeting:

• TRUMP THREATENS ‘SEVERE’ CONSEQUENCES FOR PUTIN
• TRUMP LOOKS TO APPLY LESSONS FROM HELSINKI IN PUTIN FACE-TO-FACE
• THE REALITY OF WHERE THINGS STAND ON UKRAINE BATTLEFIELD
• HOPES HIGH FOR ALASKA MEETING AS WHITE HOUSE TAMPERS EXPECTATIONS
• TRUMP DODGES QUESTIONS ON RARE EARTH MINERALS DEAL FOR PUTIN’S PEACE
• EUROPEAN LEADERS WARY TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT COULD END WITH LAND CONCESSIONS
• TRUMP SAYS ‘NEXT MEETING’ AFTER PUTIN SUMMIT WILL INVOLVE ZELENSKY
• ZELENSKY WARNS PUTIN IS PREPARING FOR MORE WAR, NOT PEACE
• TRUMP’S RUSSIA SANCTION DEADLINE COMES AND GOES WITH A WHIMPER