Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will discuss the "huge untapped potential" for Russia-U.S. economic ties as well as the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine when they meet in Alaska on Friday,

Speculation has swirled over whether the Trump-Putin summit will result in the map of Ukraine being forcibly – and fundamentally – altered. Russia has laid claim to vast parts of Ukraine since 2014, when President Vladimir Putin made his first move.

The US-Russia summit lets Putin get back to the top table of international diplomacy and thumb his nose at critics. Here’s what else he stands to gain.