Two men with their nuclear codes sitting opposite each other

It's alays a bizarre thought that when the presidents of the United States and Russia get together they always have the briefcase with nuclear warfare codes inside just a few feet away. Armageddon is always a finger-pressure button nearby. It's why Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will know that when they sit down for their session on the Ukraine war this evening at a US military base near Anchorage in Alaska, they are without much argument the two most powerful people on earth. That fact alone makes it less likely that there will be a deal to end the war at the summit because neither leader will want to be seen to be defeated by the other and neither will want the other to claim victory. What normally happens in these cases is that both leaders claim victory and then spend the next few weeks trying to prove that they came out better. If Putin feels Trump is not going his way, all he needs do is nod to his military people and they will order massive bombing of Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine. If Trump feels Putin is not budging, he will tell his Treasury people to start building a new massive sanctions package to damage Russia's war economy. In reality, there will be no real drama. Both sides will have a long chat and then let their officials have a further session in a different room and they will produce a document of sorts which points the way forward for another meeting. And so it will go on. BUY MY NEW SPY THRILLER, AGENT REDRUTH, SEQUEL TO SHADOW LIVES. OUT NOW WITH AMAZON, ROWANVALE BOOKS AND WATERSTONES.