How Trump Achieved a Breakthrough in Gaza Yet Struggles With Vladimir Putin Concerning Ukraine

Reports of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he planned to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A initial get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," President Trump told reporters at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

While making remarks in the North African country last week to celebrate that truce deal, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"It is essential to get the Russian situation done," he said.

Nonetheless, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but gave the president bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a position that provided him with special sway over the nation's head.

Combine Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, Trump has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between efforts to strong-arm Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

At the same time, the president has criticized openly Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the wake of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

Trump loves to tout his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to advance the war any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may in fact be using Trump's desire for a deal – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a method of manipulating him.

During the summer, Putin agreed to a summit in Alaska at the time when it appeared likely that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader called the US president who then touted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The following day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he said.

However the president of Ukraine subsequently made note of the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a short period, the president has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially pressuring the Ukrainian president to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump promised that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since discarded that commitment, admitting that ending the war is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when neither side wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.