🔗 Share this article

Accounts of an impending US-Russia leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump said he intended to confer with Russia's leader Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the summit has been put off without a new date.

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

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on a recent weekday. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump states he wished to avoid a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks postponed
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs White House empty-handed

The frequently changing summit is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in Ukraine – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a truce and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in the North African country recently to commemorate that truce deal, Trump turned to Steve Witkoff, with a new request.

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

However, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success possible for Witkoff and his team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for almost four years.

Less Leverage

Per the lead negotiator, the crucial element to achieving a deal was the Israeli government's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a action that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave Trump leverage to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reaching an agreement.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with the Israeli state since his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to relocate the US embassy to the contested city, to change US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to key Arab players in the area, and he had a abundant diplomatic muscle to force an agreement.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced leverage. In recent months, he has vacillated between attempts to strong-arm the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to impose 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 harm the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

At the same time, the US leader has publicly berated Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - only to then back off in the face of worried European partners who caution a Ukrainian collapse could disrupt the entire region.

Trump loves to tout his ability to meet and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to move the war any closer to a resolution.

Putin may actually be exploiting Trump's desire for a deal – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a method of influencing him.

During the summer, Putin consented to a summit in the US state just as it appeared likely that Trump would sign off on congressional sanctions package backed by Senate Republicans. That bill was subsequently 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 called Trump who then touted the potential meeting in Budapest.

The next day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a reportedly strained discussion.

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

"As you are aware, I've been played throughout my career by the best of them, and I emerged really well," he remarked.

But the Ukrainian leader subsequently made note of the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for us – for Ukraine – the Russian side almost automatically became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, Trump has shifted from considering the idea of sending missiles to Ukraine to organizing a Budapest summit with Putin and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to surrender all of Donbas – including territory Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

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

During his election campaign previously, the candidate vowed that he could resolve the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of hours. He has since abandoned that commitment, saying that concluding the hostilities is proving harder than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the difficulty of establishing a framework for peace when both parties wants, or is able to, give up the fight.