🔗 Share this article

Accounts of an upcoming American-Russian leadership summit have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after President Trump said he intended to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial get-together 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 a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs Washington empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is just the latest development in Trump's attempts to broker an end to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the US president after he orchestrated a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza.

During a speech in the North African country recently to celebrate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

"It is essential to get the Russian situation resolved," he declared.

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 several years.

Less Leverage

Per Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was the Israeli government's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump leverage to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president benefited from a history of supporting Israel since his first term, including his choice to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change US policy on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, actually, is more popular among the Israeli public than Netanyahu – a position that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the region, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to secure an deal.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, by contrast, the president has much less influence. In recent months, he has swung between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

Trump has warned to impose additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to provide Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the war.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly information exchange with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the country - only to then retreat in the wake of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

Trump loves to tout his skill to meet 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.

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

In July, Russia's leader consented to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it appeared likely that the president would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by GOP senators. That legislation was afterwards delayed.

Last week, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the president of Russia called Trump who then touted the possible summit in Budapest.

The next day, the president hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but left without agreements after a reportedly tense meeting.

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

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

However the Ukrainian leader later commented on the timeline of developments.

"Once the matter of long-range mobility became a less accessible for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia quickly became less interested in diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a matter of days, the president has bounced from considering the idea of sending missiles to the Eastern European country to planning a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has finally settled on advocating a truce along current battle lines – something Russia has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has since discarded that pledge, saying that ending the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when neither side wants, or is able to, cease hostilities.