By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) -In a few short hours in Alaska, Vladimir Putin managed to convince Donald Trump that a Ukraine ceasefire was not the way to go, stave off U.S. sanctions, and spectacularly shatter years of Western attempts to isolate the Russian president.

The net effect of the Alaska summit was to give President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a free pass to continue his war against his neighbor indefinitely without further penalty, pending talks on a broader peace deal.

President Putin joined President Trump in his presidential vehicle, "The Beast." They appeared to be alone in the back seat — an image that likely won't sit well with Ukrainians, who have been excluded from the summit,

By Andrea Shalal, Thomas Escritt and Tom Balmforth WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump threatened "severe consequences" if Russia's Vladimir Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine but also said on Wednesday that a meeting between them could swiftly be followed by a second that would include the leader of Ukraine.