How Trump Achieved a Major Step in Gaza Yet Struggles With Putin Concerning the Ukraine Conflict

Reports of an impending US-Russia presidential summit have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after President Trump announced he intended to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

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

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs White House without results

The on-again, off-again summit is just the latest twist in the president's efforts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the circumstances that converged to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the key to achieving a agreement was Israel's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump bargaining power to compel Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a long record of siding with Israel since his initial presidency, encompassing his choice to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in the president's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to secure an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has swung between efforts to pressure Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to enact new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could harm the global economy and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the president has criticized openly Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing arms shipments to the nation - then to back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

Putin may in fact be using the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a summit in the US state at the time when it appeared likely that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently put on hold.

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

The next day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed empty-handed after a reportedly strained discussion.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he said.

But the president of Ukraine subsequently commented on the sequence of events.

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy," he said.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – even land Russia has been failed to capture.

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

During his election campaign previously, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that commitment, admitting that ending the war is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his power – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when neither side desires, or can afford to, cease hostilities.