The US president will speak to Ukraine's leader in a call on Wednesday, two days before "one-to-one" talks with Putin.

For Putin, Friday’s meeting is a chance to repair his relationship with Trump and unlace the West’s isolation of his country following its invasion of Ukraine 3 1/2 years ago. He’s been open about his desire to rebuild U.S.-Russia relations now that Trump is back in the White House.

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.