There is a phrase that has been known in British politics since the 19th century, when Lord Randolph Churchill – father of Winston – used it to describe the prime minister Lord Gladstone: “an old man in a hurry”.

It’s a good way to describe how President Donald Trump is acting when it comes to Russia and Ukraine. Trump promised repeatedly to end the conflict on “day one” of his presidency, but instead made no progress over six months.

The president is fixated on winning a Nobel Peace Prize – to the point that he reportedly cold-called Norway’s finance minister to lobby directly for it – and seems acutely aware that the clock is ticking before this year’s winner is announced in October.

Perhaps with this end in mind, he has accelerated his peace-making efforts, hosting Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Washington DC today. Trump very obviously wants a peace deal he can call his own. Whatever else he wants, though, is a........

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