"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.

The much-anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin began with a warm welcome a military flyover but ended with a thud after the two leaders conceded they