Russia’s invasion has dominated previous meetings, but keeping President Trump happy was the focus at the gathering this week. Ukraine was largely shunted to the sidelines.

An internal rift over defense spending and President Trump’s disregard for Ukraine have lowered expectations for the gathering.

The “why” is Russia. But at a summit focused on keeping President Trump happy, discussion of that is expected to be muted.

Russia’s invasion has dominated previous meetings, but keeping President Trump happy was the focus at the gathering this week. Ukraine was largely shunted to the sidelines.