🔗 Share this article

Accounts of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been overstated, apparently.

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

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

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," Donald Trump told the press at the executive mansion on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Ukraine's capital as Zelensky departs Washington empty-handed

The on-again, off-again meeting is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

During a speech in the North African country recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, the president turned to Steve Witkoff, with a fresh directive.

"It is essential to get the Russian situation done," he said.

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to duplicate in a Ukraine war that has been raging for nearing four years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the key to unlocking a agreement was Israel's move to attack Hamas negotiators 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 Israel since his first term, including his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the legality of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, more recently, his support for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that gave him unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Combine Trump's connections in politics and business to key Arab players in the area, and he had a wealth of negotiating strength to secure an agreement.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has significantly reduced leverage. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to pressure Putin and then the Ukrainian leader, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with new long-range weapons. But he has also recognised that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the US leader has criticized openly Zelensky, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine and pausing arms shipments to the nation - only to then retreat in the wake of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the whole area.

The president loves to tout his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders haven't seemed to move the war any nearer a peaceful end.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and faith in in-person deal-making - as a means of manipulating him.

During the summer, Russia's leader agreed to a high-level meeting in the US state just as it seemed probable that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package supported by Senate Republicans. That bill was afterwards put on hold.

Last week, as news emerged that the US administration was considering seriously sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then touted the potential summit in Hungary.

The next day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but left without agreements after a allegedly tense meeting.

Trump maintained that he was not being played by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I emerged successfully," he said.

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

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

So, in a matter of days, Trump has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – even land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on advocating 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 since discarded that pledge, admitting that concluding the war is turning out harder than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his authority – and the challenge of finding a framework for peace when neither side wants, or can afford to, cease hostilities.