How Donald Trump Secured a Major Step in the Middle East Yet Struggles With Vladimir Putin Over Ukraine

Accounts of an impending US-Russia presidential meeting have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after President Trump said he planned to confer with Russia's leader Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary get-together by the two nations' leading diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told reporters at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Donald Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin postponed
• Letdown in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing summit is another development in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the US president after he arranged a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

While making remarks in Egypt last week to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

"It is essential to get Russia resolved," he said.

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for almost four years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was Israel's decision to strike representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered America's Arab allies but gave Trump bargaining power to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his initial presidency, including his decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy 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, actually, is better regarded among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him unique influence 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 diplomatic muscle to force an deal.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, the president has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has threatened to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending arms shipments to the nation - then to 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 ability to sit down and negotiate deals, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to advance the hostilities any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may actually be using the US leader's wish for a deal – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader consented to a summit in Alaska at the time when it appeared likely that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as news emerged that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the Russian leader called Trump who then touted the potential meeting in Hungary.

The following day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but left without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

The US leader insisted that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I came out really well," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has bounced from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to cede all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – something the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump promised that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently discarded that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a peace plan when both parties desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.