🔗 Share this article

Reports of an impending American-Russian leadership meeting have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he planned to meet Russian President Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been suspended indefinitely.

A preliminary meeting by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, as well.

"I prefer not to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Trump says he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves Washington without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in the president's efforts to mediate an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in Egypt last week to commemorate that truce deal, the president addressed Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough possible for the negotiation team may be challenging to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for nearing several years.

Less Leverage

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's decision to attack representatives of Hamas in the Gulf state. It was a action that infuriated US partners in the Arab world but provided Trump bargaining power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into making a deal.

The US president gained from a long record of supporting the Israeli state since his initial presidency, including his choice to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israeli defense operations against the Islamic Republic.

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

Add in the president's connections in politics and business to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to secure an deal.

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

Trump has warned to impose new sanctions on Russian energy exports and to provide the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that such actions could harm the world's financial stability and intensify the conflict.

At the same time, the president has publicly berated Ukraine's president, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and suspending arms shipments to the country - only to then back off in the wake of worried European partners who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the whole area.

The president loves to tout his ability to meet and hammer out deals, but his face-to-face meetings with both Putin and Zelensky haven't seemed to advance the war any closer to a peaceful end.

Putin may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a settlement – and faith in direct negotiations - as a method of influencing him.

In July, Russia's leader consented to a high-level meeting in Alaska just as it appeared likely that the president would approve on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was subsequently put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and air defense systems to Kyiv, the Russian leader phoned Trump who then touted the possible meeting in Hungary.

The following day, the president welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but left without agreements after a allegedly strained discussion.

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

"You know, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

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

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

Thus, in a short period, Trump has shifted from entertaining the prospect of sending missiles to Ukraine to planning a meeting in Hungary with Russia's leader and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – even territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately settled on advocating a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal the Russian government has refused to accept.

During his election campaign last year, Trump vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since discarded that commitment, saying that ending the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when both parties wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.