🔗 Share this article

Accounts of an upcoming US-Russia presidential summit have been overstated, apparently.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he planned to meet Russian President Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A initial meeting by the two nations' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump informed reporters at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky departs Washington without results

The frequently changing meeting is another twist in the president's attempts to broker an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a truce and prisoner exchange deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

"We have to get the Russian situation done," he declared.

Nonetheless, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for almost several years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was the Israeli government's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but gave Trump bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a history of supporting the Israeli state dating back to his first term, including his decision to relocate the American embassy to the contested city, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a position that provided him with special sway over the Israeli leader.

Add in Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has warned to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the global economy and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the nation - only to then back off in the wake of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may actually be exploiting the US leader's wish for a settlement – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska at the time when it appeared likely that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

The next day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

The US leader maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out really well," he said.

But the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the timeline of developments.

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

So, in a short period, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to organizing a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and privately urging Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally decided on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has subsequently abandoned that pledge, admitting that ending the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his power – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when neither side wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.