How Donald Trump Secured a Major Step in Gaza Yet Struggles With Vladimir Putin Concerning Ukraine

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

Only a few days after Donald Trump said he intended to confer with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "within two weeks or so" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

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

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told the press at the executive mansion on Tuesday afternoon. "I don't want a waste of time, so I will observe what transpires."

• Trump says he did not want a 'wasted meeting' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as President Zelensky leaves White House without results

The frequently changing summit is just the latest development in the president's attempts to broker an conclusion to war in Ukraine – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt recently 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 declared.

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

Per Witkoff, the crucial element to achieving a agreement was Israel's decision to strike Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a long record of siding with Israel dating back to his first term, including his choice to move the American embassy to the contested city, to alter America's position on the legality of Israeli settlements 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 more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with special sway over the Israeli leader.

Combine the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a wealth of 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 swung between efforts to pressure Putin and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to enact new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, halting briefly information exchange with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - then to retreat in the face of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

The president loves to tout his ability to meet and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the war any closer to a resolution.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Putin consented to a summit in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president would approve on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as reports spread that the US administration was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then touted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, Trump hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed without agreements after a allegedly tense meeting.

The US leader insisted that he was not being manipulated by Putin.

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I emerged successfully," he remarked.

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

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for us – for our nation – the Russian side quickly became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a matter of days, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – including land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on calling for a ceasefire along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail previously, Trump promised that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that commitment, admitting that ending the hostilities is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a uncommon admission of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when both parties desires, or is able to, give up the fight.