🔗 Share this article

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

Only a few days after President Trump said he planned to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

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

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

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

The on-again, off-again summit is another development in Trump's attempts to mediate an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a subject of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

During a speech in Egypt recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the conditions that converged to make a Middle East success achievable for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Less Leverage

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered America's Arab allies but provided Trump bargaining power to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

The US president benefited from a history of siding with Israel dating back to his first term, encompassing his choice to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter US policy on the legality of Jewish communities in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

The US president, actually, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – 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 region, and he had a abundant negotiating strength to secure an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could harm the global economy and further escalate the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing arms shipments to the country - only to then retreat in the face of concerned European allies who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the whole area.

The president often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to move the war any closer to a resolution.

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

During the summer, Putin agreed to a summit in the US state just as it appeared likely that Trump would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That legislation was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was seriously contemplating sending long-range missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine, the president of Russia called the US president who then touted the potential meeting in Hungary.

The next day, the president welcomed Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by Putin.

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

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently commented on the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the issue of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – including territory Russia has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along present frontlines – something the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump vowed that he could end the Ukraine war in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that commitment, admitting that concluding the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a peace plan when both parties desires, or can afford to, give up the fight.