🔗 Share this article

Reports of an upcoming US-Russia leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, apparently.

Only a few days after Donald Trump said he planned to meet Russian President Putin in Budapest - "within two weeks or so" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A initial get-together by the both countries' leading diplomats has been cancelled, as well.

"I don't want to have a fruitless discussion," Donald Trump informed the press at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a pointless effort, so I'll see what happens."

• Trump states he did not want a 'unproductive session' after arrangement for Putin talks shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as President Zelensky departs White House without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest development in Trump's efforts to mediate an conclusion to hostilities in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he orchestrated a truce and hostage release deal in Gaza.

During a speech in the North African country last week to commemorate that truce deal, the president turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a new request.

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

However, the circumstances that aligned to make a Gaza breakthrough achievable for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been ongoing for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was Israel's move to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave the president bargaining power to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a long record of siding with the Israeli state dating back to his first term, encompassing his decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, to change America's position on the lawfulness of Jewish communities in the West Bank and, in recent times, his support for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is better regarded among the Israeli public than their prime minister – a situation that gave him unique influence over the nation's head.

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

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, on the other hand, Trump has significantly reduced influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between attempts to pressure Putin and then Zelensky, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply Ukraine with advanced missile systems. But he has also recognised that doing so could disrupt the world's financial stability and intensify the war.

Meanwhile, the president has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off intelligence-sharing with the country and pausing weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the face of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could destabilise the entire region.

Trump loves to tout his skill to sit down and hammer out agreements, but his face-to-face meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

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

In July, Putin consented to a summit in Alaska at the time when it seemed probable that Trump would sign off on legislative penalties supported by Senate Republicans. That legislation was afterwards put on hold.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned Trump who then promoted the potential summit in Budapest.

The following day, the president hosted Ukraine's leader at the White House, but departed empty-handed after a allegedly tense meeting.

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

"You know, I've been played all my life by skilled operators, and I came out successfully," he remarked.

But the Ukrainian leader later commented on the sequence of events.

"Once the issue of long-range mobility became a little further away for Ukraine – for our nation – Russia quickly became less engaged in diplomacy," he stated.

So, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to Ukraine to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and confidentially pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russian forces has been unable to conquer.

He has ultimately decided on advocating a truce along present frontlines – a proposal the Russian government has rejected.

During his election campaign last year, Trump vowed that he could end the conflict in Ukraine in a very short time. He has subsequently discarded that commitment, admitting that ending the war is proving harder than he expected.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the constraints of his authority – and the difficulty of finding a framework for peace when neither side desires, or is able to, give up the fight.