How Trump Secured a Major Step in the Middle East But Struggles With Vladimir Putin Over Ukraine

Reports of an impending American-Russian leadership summit have been greatly exaggerated, it seems.

Only a few days after President Trump announced he intended to meet Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been put off without a new date.

A initial get-together by the both countries' leading diplomats has been called off, too.

"I prefer not to have a wasted meeting," President Trump informed the press at the White House on a recent weekday. "I don't want a pointless effort, so I will observe what happens."

• Trump says he did not want a 'unproductive session' after plan for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Letdown in Kyiv as Zelensky departs Washington without results

The frequently changing meeting is just the latest twist in Trump's efforts to broker an conclusion to war in the Eastern European nation – a topic of renewed focus for the American leader after he arranged a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to commemorate that ceasefire agreement, Trump turned to his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

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

Nonetheless, the circumstances that converged to make a Middle East success possible for the negotiation team may be difficult to replicate in a Ukraine war that has been ongoing for almost several years.

Reduced Influence

According to Witkoff, the key to unlocking a agreement was the Israeli government's decision to attack Hamas negotiators in the Gulf state. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but gave the president leverage to pressure Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of supporting the Israeli state since his first term, including his decision to move the US embassy to the contested city, to alter US policy on the lawfulness of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and, in recent times, his backing for Israel's military campaign against Iran.

The US president, in fact, is more popular among Israelis than their prime minister – a situation that provided him with unique influence over the Israeli leader.

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the region, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to secure an deal.

In the Ukraine war, on the other hand, the president has much less influence. Over the past nine months, he has vacillated between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then Zelensky, all with minimal visible progress.

Trump has warned to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with new long-range weapons. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could disrupt the world's financial stability and further escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, the US leader has publicly berated Ukraine's president, temporarily cutting off information exchange with Ukraine and suspending weapon deliveries to the country - then to retreat in the wake of worried European partners who warn a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

The president often boasts about his ability to meet and hammer out agreements, but his personal discussions with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not appeared to move the war any closer to a resolution.

The Russian president may in fact be using the US leader's wish for a deal – and belief in in-person deal-making - as a method of manipulating him.

In July, Russia's leader agreed to a summit in the US state just as it seemed probable that Trump would approve on congressional sanctions package supported by GOP senators. That legislation was subsequently delayed.

Last week, as reports spread that the US administration was considering seriously shipping long-range missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine, the president of Russia phoned the US president who then promoted the potential summit in Hungary.

The following day, Trump welcomed Zelensky at the White House, but left empty-handed after a reportedly tense meeting.

Trump insisted that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

"You know, I have been manipulated all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well," he said.

However the president of Ukraine later 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 diplomacy," he stated.

Thus, in a short period, the president has bounced from considering the idea of providing weapons to Ukraine to planning a Budapest summit with Putin and privately urging Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region – including territory Russian forces has been failed to capture.

He has finally settled on calling for a ceasefire along current battle lines – a proposal Russia has rejected.

During his election campaign last year, the candidate promised that he could end the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has subsequently discarded that commitment, admitting that concluding the hostilities is turning out more difficult than he expected.

It has been a uncommon admission of the constraints of his authority – and the challenge of establishing a peace plan when both parties wants, or can afford to, give up the fight.